19 Essential Tools for Building a Successful Business Plan

These resources can reduce the time and effort it takes to write a comprehensive plan.

Business plans have certainly changed throughout the years. Not too long ago, a business plan required you to spend hours doing market research and slowly plotting out your business trajectory. You would have to take data from several sources and do your own legwork. Now you don’t necessarily have to do all that work to put together a business plan. In fact, many entrepreneurs entirely dispense with the idea of a business plan, while others prioritize flexibility and the ability to pivot instead of sticking to a script.

Regardless of how you intend to create your business plan, having one – or at least a rough sketch – is an essential step toward success. Business plans are a road map for how the business should grow and develop over time. A business needs to have a clear-cut direction; otherwise, it becomes impossible to make decisions that lead the company to achieve its goals.

Using tools and resources to develop business plans gives owners an edge, since it allows them to tap into the general knowledge in the field. From the tried-and-true deep dive into the industry to simple, one-page documents that outline the essentials, business plans can take many forms. Here, 19 members from YEC share their favorite tools and strategies for drawing up those business plans, no matter the style.

1. Lean Canvas

“My favorite tool for building out a business plan has nothing to do with software. It’s a simple one-sheet template called Lean Canvas. Instead of getting bogged down in details and analysis paralysis, Lean Canvas offers a high-level view of the main risks the business faces, as well as areas of opportunity. It’s a blueprint that can always be referred back to, to guide more granular plans.” ‒ Matt Diggity, Diggity Marketing

2. Slidebean

“I enjoy using Slidebean to create a deck first. They have a ton of pitch deck templates from famous startups. You can use them as inspiration for flow and storytelling. Most investors don’t need a traditional comprehensive business plan, but it’s still good to have one. I start with making a deck to hit the main points, and then I can create a detailed business plan using the deck as an outline.” ‒ Christopher Seshadri, PhotoSesh

Read more: business