Business Plan

Starting a business involves research, discovery, planning, key financial decisions, and a series of legal and operational steps. For a new venture, the process can feel overwhelming. Good planning helps bring clarity, reduce assumptions, and create a stronger foundation for moving forward.

Planning Tools

What type of business plan should you create? For a new business, we recommend using both the Business Model Canvas and a traditional business plan.

This is not an either/or decision.

  • The Business Model Canvas is used to explore and develop your business model.
  • The traditional business plan is used to guide tactics, execution, and financing.

The greatest value in working through the Business Model Canvas and creating a business plan is not simply the final documents. It is the process of testing assumptions, clarifying priorities, improving communication, and building your plan around real information rather than guesswork.

Business Model Canvas

The Business Model Canvas is a tool that helps you map, design, discuss, and develop your business model. It is especially useful in the early stages of starting a business, when many parts of the model are still unknown.

The 9 parts of the canvas help you visualize how customer needs, value, operations, and revenue fit together in a sustainable business.

The 9 building blocks of the Business Model Canvas are:

  • Value Proposition — What value do you provide to customers?
  • Customer Segments — Who are your target customers?
  • Channels — How will you reach customers and deliver value?
  • Customer Relationships — How will you attract, serve, and retain customers?
  • Revenue Streams — How will the business generate revenue?
  • Key Activities — What activities are necessary to make the business work?
  • Key Resources — What resources are required?
  • Key Partners — What outside partners or third parties are needed?
  • Cost Structure / Pricing — What costs come with the model, and what price should you charge?
Learn more about the Business Model Canvas
Want help working through the Business Model Canvas? Venture School guides businesses through this process.
Learn more about Venture School

Traditional Business Plan

A traditional business plan has two main purposes.

First, it helps you run your company with a clearer, more cohesive vision. For a new business, it becomes your go-to-market roadmap.

Second, it helps you prepare for financing. Financial institutions and other lenders typically want to see a clear plan that demonstrates how the business will operate and repay funding.

Key elements of a business plan include:

  • Executive Summary
  • Company Description
  • Market Analysis
  • Organization and Management Team
  • Products or Services
  • Marketing and Sales Strategy
  • SWOT Analysis
  • Financing or Funding Request
  • Financial Projections
  • Appendix

Ready to take the next step?

At the Pappajohn Center, we help entrepreneurs navigate the challenges of starting and growing a business.
Request free business counseling