We’re currently writing our business plan after several months of market research. In that time, we’ve come across lots of great resources for putting together a plan and we’d like to share them with you. We’re not going to get into a discussion of why even Web 2.0 companies should have a business plan (at least not in this post) but suffice it to say that even if you are not putting together a plan for investors, you should be putting one together as an operational guide for your company.

Getting Started

For a wealth of resources on business planning, Tim Berry is the the ultimate guru. Some twenty years ago he started Palo Alto Software , the makers of Business Plan Pro - a useful software package for building a business plan if you prefer a hand-holding approach. If you have the time, watch his presentations on The Not So Big Business Plan, Your Business Plan, Beyond Startups, and Basic Business Numbers. They run from 30 mins to an hour and while the audio quality varies, Tim delivers in a soothing tone more akin to watching Bob Ross paint than listening to your high school economics teacher. There are a lot of other great resources Tim has made available, which we’ll be linking to below.

Books

• The Hurdle Book - Tim Berry’s detailed but compact look at writing an effective business plan. I wouldn’t start with this but when you are looking to understand the more complicated elements of financial projections, this covers it better than most. I’ve linked to the free web version, but you can also pick up a print copy through Palo Alto Software.
• The Art of the Start - this is a must read, by Guy Kawasaki. Seriously, just get it and read it.

In-Depth Guides

• Writing an Effective Business Plan (PDF) - from Deloitte & Touche, this is the single best business plan guide I’ve come across online.
• Growthink Business Plan Guide (PDF) - from Growthink, a business plan consulting firm. Not as good as the above, but they maintain a useful blog as well.
• PlanWare Business Plan Guide - a bit of an eye-sore, but worth browsing (chapters are on the left). They also have a good page on developing a strategic plan.
• SCORE Business Plan Template (PDF) - this falls somewhere between a guide and an outline.

Sample Outlines

There is no set way to structure a business plan. The books and guides above all have outlines, but taking a look at the following will quickly give you a good idea of the general structure.

• Inc. Magazine: Business Plan Outline
• Sequoia Capital: Writing a Business Plan
• Tech IT Easy Blog: Business Plan Pattern
• PlanWare: Writing a Business Plan

Sample Plans

• How To Write a Winning Business Plan - a great article on the Seahorse Power corporation and its award-winning business plan (PDF, annotated)
• MOOT CORP Competition - winning plans from “the Super Bowl of business plan competitions”. It’s hard to believe, but there are even plans for Internet service companies here! ;)
• Palo Alto Software Sample Plans - a great list of free sample plans presented in a visually pleasing format.

More Tools and Templates

• PlanHQ - this is a really promising web-based tool for utilizing your business plan as an ongoing process. There is a free trial, plans range from$9-$49 a month.
• NEBS Business Plan Tool - a simple web form for fill-in-the-blank business plan creation.
• SCORE Business Templates - editable Excel sheets, Word docs, and printable PDFs.

Additional Resources

• eVenturing - the Kauffman Foundation’s entrepreneur resource center.
• SBA - the U.S. Small Business Administration.
• SCORE - the Service Core of Retired Executives.
• NYC Small Business Services - since we’re a Silicon Alley startup, this one is on our list.
• BusinessPlans.org - pretty self descriptive.
• The Nuts and Bolts of Business Plans - an MIT OpenCourseWare course.