Successful business planning means setting a clear mission and measurable goals, researching your market and competitors, testing ideas with tools such as SWOT analysis, writing the plan down (a detailed traditional plan or a one-page lean plan), and reviewing it against real results at regular intervals so it changes as the business does.
Key Takeaways
- A business plan works best as a written document with a mission, objectives, strategies, tactics and a timeline.
- The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) describes two formats: a detailed traditional plan, favored by lenders and investors, and a one-page lean startup plan.
- SWOT, crisis (scenario) analysis and MOST analysis work well together when generating a strategic plan.
- According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 51.4% of private sector establishments opened in the year to March 2020 were still operating five years later.
- Free planning help is available in the US through SBA resource partners such as SCORE and Small Business Development Centers.
If you want your business to grow successfully, you need a solid business plan. Strategic planning is one of the most important jobs of a business’s owners or board of directors, because it sets the direction that every other decision follows.
Strategic business planning helps you to identify your long-term goals and figure out how to achieve them. It can also help you to identify potential problems and how you can best manage them.
A strategy turns those goals into a plan of action. No plan can guarantee success, but a written one makes it easier to spot problems early and change course. Moving forward with your strategic direction set is key to sustaining the growth you need for your business.
Create your business’s mission
When growing a business, you need a mission. A mission statement explains why the business exists and whom it serves, and it is backed by goals that are specific and measurable. A common test for those goals is the SMART framework, first set out in print by George T. Doran in Management Review in November 1981: goals should be specific, measurable, assignable, realistic and time-related.
Your mission will help you to stay on track with your growth. It will also help keep you informed when it comes to making decisions as your business grows.
A written plan also matters when you seek outside money: the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) notes that lenders and investors favor the detailed traditional business plan format. They want to see that you have a well-thought-out business plan and that you’re serious about succeeding.
Strong goals make for a strong foundation for your strategic plan. You want to spend a lot more time on this bit than you might first think. A clear mission does not make the rest easy, but it gives every later objective, strategy and budget decision something to be checked against.
Research your market
In order for your business to be successful, you need to have a firm understanding of your industry and the competition. Knowing your industry shows you where customers are underserved and where competitors are strong or weak.
What are your strengths and weaknesses in business in relation to your competition? What can you do to stay ahead of your competitors?
You don’t want there to be a weakness that could easily be exploited by your competitors. It’s never good to leave a reason they can use to convince your customers that they’re a better choice than you are.
Meanwhile, if it’s clear that everyone else is doing something that works, maybe you need to consider doing it too. This doesn’t mean start copying everyone else. You still want to maintain what makes you unique and special, but there’s nothing wrong with being informed about the obvious changes you can make.
Business planning can help you stay one step ahead of the rest. By taking the time to plan out your moves, you can make sure that your business is always moving in the right direction, and maybe getting there that little bit faster than the competition.
Write a business plan
When it comes to successfully running a business, failing to plan is planning to fail. Business planning is essential for any business, no matter its size. Without a plan, you would be reacting blind to whatever chance throws at you, and that’s not a recipe for success.
This plan should take the form of a formal, written document. Something written down is important because it makes it much easier for you to come back to for reference. An actual plan is also easier to communicate to others when you need to.
Your business plan will outline your mission, objectives, strategies, and tactics. It should include a timeline so you can monitor your progress and modify the plan as needed. A strong business plan is there so you can stay on track for reaching your mission.
How to generate a business plan
Planning how you’ll plan can be very useful as well. Making sure you understand the process that your meeting will follow means you can better prepare for it. You don’t want to skip around different ideas, or you’ll miss things out.
The following toolkit combines three widely used planning techniques: SWOT analysis, crisis (scenario) analysis and MOST analysis.
SWOT
A great tool for understanding your business. It looks at 4 main areas. The first 2 (strengths and weaknesses) are internal to your business, while the second 2 (opportunities and threats) are external factors outside your direct control.
- Strengths – what is it your business does well? What can you rely on?
- Weaknesses – what don’t you do very well? What could cause you problems if left unsorted?
- Opportunities – what could happen that’s out of your control but could be beneficial to your business?
- Threats – what events are out of control that pose a risk to your business?
Crisis Analysis
Life is unpredictable, and a business that’s prepared for the unexpected will be much more resilient.
- Generate ideas for crises that could affect your business. This can be global scale events, such as the closure of a major logistics route, or small scale ones, like a new competitor entering your market.
- Work down from global effects, to how it would affect your business directly.
- Figure out how you would deal with it. This could mean shoring up weaknesses it’s revealed in your business currently, or making a plan for how to handle situations like the crisis if they occur.
MOST Analysis
MOST Analysis breaks planning down into 4 steps. For each of these 4 stages, start by listing every idea you can without trying to analyse them. Once you’ve run out of ideas, then you can think about them more.
- Mission – a specific, achievable growth goal. For example, 25% increase in a year.
- Objectives – what do you need to accomplish to achieve your mission?
- Strategies – what are the options available to your business for completing your objectives?
- Tactics – what actionable tasks make up a chosen strategy?
Bringing it together
MOST synergises well with SWOT and Crisis Analysis as they both give you information on objectives you may want to focus on. An opportunity you found or the preparation for a dangerous crisis are both great examples of something to include in your plan.
Crisis Analysis can benefit from doing SWOT, as it provides a list of threats to explore. The weaknesses in your business will help you to understand the effects a crisis could have.
Many businesses find that it’s a good idea to have someone who owns the process, but is separate to it. When you have your strategy meeting, you want to make sure there’s someone present who won’t join in with the actual planning.
This allows them to steer the direction of the meeting back on track when it gets distracted. This also means they’re free to chase up the completion of tactics without having to worry about their own work.
Some businesses use this as a chance to let a promising employee get Boardroom experience. Others hire a dedicated Strategy Director. This is a role that lends itself very well to a part-time hire.
Monitor progress
Simply creating a business plan and putting it on a shelf won’t be enough. The plan should be reviewed and updated regularly to ensure that it remains relevant and viable.
Measuring your results and making the necessary changes is an essential part of the growth process. If you’re not monitoring progress, you won’t know if your efforts are actually paying off.
Are your sales increasing? Are you managing to reach more customers? Do you need to make any changes to your plan so you can continue growing?
These are all questions that can be answered by monitoring your growth with regular strategic reviews. How often you should review your strategies will depend on your business. Generally, the more complex the business and plan, the more often it should be reviewed.
Remember that no plan is perfect, and no one can accurately predict something as big and complicated as a business. Things will change, and the plan will likely need to be adjusted accordingly. Regularly revisiting and updating your plan is the key to keeping your business on track.
Seek necessary support
When it comes to business planning and creating a strategic plan, don’t hesitate to ask for help if you think you need it. Help is available both from paid advisers and from free or low-cost public programs, such as the SBA resource partners described later in this guide.
By seeking assistance from more experienced business leaders, you can avoid common mistakes that plague a growing business. Many of these mistakes will be ones that your support will have had to learn the hard way, so will gladly avoid doing again. This should help you stay on track and achieve your mission with fewer setbacks.
The support you access could be in the form of one-to-one mentoring or it could be hiring support directly into your business. As seen, part-time Strategy Directors could help you with your strategic planning, but offer flexibility that better suits a small business.
Succeed in your planning
Following this advice could help your business succeed with its business planning. Planning is vital to any successful pursuits, so make sure you take the time to develop a plan that fits you and your business.
Remember to stay focused on your objectives, and regularly check your plan as your business evolves. Careful planning and execution do not guarantee success, but they improve the odds of spotting problems while they can still be fixed.
Boardroom Advisors is one example of a firm offering business support services, including a part-time Strategy Director role. Firms of this kind describe their contracts as flexible; scope, terms and fees vary between providers, so compare several, ask for references and read the contract before signing. Free alternatives, such as SCORE mentoring, are listed below.
What Should a Business Plan Include?
A business plan should include, at minimum, what the business does, who its customers are, how it will reach them, who runs it and how the numbers add up. The SBA lists the sections of a traditional business plan as follows:
- Executive summary – what the company is and why it will succeed, usually written last but placed first.
- Company description – the problem the business solves and its competitive advantages.
- Market analysis – the industry, target market and competitors (see how to analyze competitors’ strategies).
- Organization and management – the legal structure and who does what.
- Service or product line – what you sell and how it benefits customers.
- Marketing and sales – how you will attract and keep customers.
- Funding request – how much money you need and what it is for, if you are raising money.
- Financial projections – forecasts that show the business can become financially stable.
- Appendix – supporting documents such as permits, credit histories or contracts.
Traditional plan or lean startup plan?
The SBA describes two formats. A traditional plan suits a loan or investment application; a lean plan suits a quick summary you will revise often.
| Feature | Traditional business plan | Lean startup plan |
|---|---|---|
| Length | Typically dozens of pages | Typically one page |
| Time to write | Substantial upfront effort | As little as one hour, according to the SBA |
| Main sections | Executive summary, company description, market analysis, organization and management, products or services, marketing and sales, funding request, financial projections | Key partnerships, key activities, key resources, value proposition, customer relationships, customer segments, channels, cost structure, revenue streams |
| Best for | Lenders and investors who expect detail | Testing an idea and refining it frequently |
How to Write a Business Plan Step by Step
- Write the mission. One or two sentences on why the business exists and whom it serves.
- Set SMART goals. For example, “grow revenue by 25% within 12 months”, with one named person responsible for each goal.
- Research the market. Size up customers, competitors and prices before committing money.
- Run a SWOT and a crisis analysis. List strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats, then the shocks that could hit the business.
- Turn findings into objectives, strategies and tactics using MOST, and give each tactic an owner and a deadline.
- Build the financial projections, including costs, expected revenue and how much cash the business can hold in reserve (see why startups need an emergency fund).
- Write it down in the chosen format, traditional or lean, and share it with the people who must act on it.
- Schedule reviews and compare actual results with the plan each time.
Why Does Business Planning Matter?
Business planning matters because many new businesses do not last. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (Business Employment Dynamics, newest data, to March 2025):
- 77.9% of private sector establishments that opened in the year to March 2024 were still operating one year later.
- 51.4% of establishments that opened in the year to March 2020 were still operating five years later, in March 2025.
- 34.7% of establishments that opened in the year to March 2015 were still operating ten years later, in March 2025.
These figures do not show that a plan alone keeps a business open, but they show why owners benefit from testing assumptions, watching cash and preparing for setbacks before they happen. For more on reacting to outside pressures, see how small businesses can adapt to a changing economic landscape.
Common Business Planning Mistakes
- Treating SWOT as the finished strategy. SWOT is a starting point; a common criticism is that its findings are often not carried into later strategy stages. Turn each item into an objective or tactic.
- Letting one voice dominate. Personal bias and dominant team members can skew which strengths and threats get listed, which is one reason a neutral facilitator helps.
Where Can You Get Free Business Planning Help?
In the United States, the SBA works with several resource partners that help with business plans:
- SCORE – described by the SBA as the nation’s largest network of volunteer, expert business mentors, offering advice at no cost (including business planning) by email, phone and video, plus webinars and courses.
- Small Business Development Centers (SBDCs) – individual business advising and technical help covering business planning, access to capital, financial management and marketing.
- Women’s Business Centers – free to low-cost counseling and training for women starting or growing a business.
- Veterans Business Outreach Centers – workshops, counseling and help with business plan development; the SBA lists 31 participating organizations.
If the plan is going to a lender, the small business loan application checklist shows what else to prepare, and the guide to investors to consider for your startup covers outside funding options.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the main steps of business planning?
The main steps of business planning are to define the mission, set measurable goals, research the market and competitors, analyze strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats, choose strategies and tactics, build financial projections, write the plan down and review it regularly against actual results.
How long should a business plan be?
A business plan can be one page or dozens of pages. The SBA says a lean startup plan is typically one page and can be written in as little as an hour, while a traditional plan typically runs to dozens of pages and is the format lenders and investors favor.
What is the difference between a mission and an objective?
A mission states the overall purpose or target of the business, while an objective is a specific result that must be achieved to reach that mission. In MOST analysis, objectives are then delivered through strategies and the tactics that make them up.
Is SWOT analysis enough for strategic planning?
SWOT analysis is not enough on its own. It identifies internal strengths and weaknesses and external opportunities and threats, but it is a static snapshot, so its findings need to be turned into objectives, strategies and tactics and combined with tools such as crisis analysis.
