Business Planning

How to Write a Business Plan

This project guide helps two Sky’s the Limit members work together through three meetings as they collaborate to write a business plan.

Meeting 1: Identify why you need a business plan

Before this meeting:

• Review:Types of Business Plans

• Make sure that you’ve had an intro meeting. If you need help navigating your first meeting, visit this Guide to Your First Meeting.

In this meeting:

• If you haven’t set clear expectations and discussed the details of your commitment, we recommend using this Guide to Your First Session before kicking off this project.

• Discuss the Types of Business Plans and determine which is the right one for your current situation.

After this meeting:

• Start brainstorming for your next meeting.

• Note any agreed-upon next steps

Meeting 2: Identify my customers

Before this meeting:

• Review any ideas from your brainstorming session after your last meeting.

In this meeting:

• Use the tools provided for each Business Plan Type to create an outline or draft of your plan. 

  • Value Proposition

  • 1-Page Business Plan

  • Detailed Business Plan

After this meeting:

• Share the outline with friends or potential customers and ask for feedback.

• Note any agreed-upon next steps

Meeting 3: Test my idea with customers

Before this meeting:

Review: Share any feedback you received from friends or potential customers with your collaborator.

In this meeting:

• Discuss any necessary adjustments based on the feedback you received. 

• Revise and finalize your business plan.

After this meeting:

• Ask someone to proofread the business plan. 

• Share your business plan with investors, business partners, potential supporters, etc.

• If you finished your business plan, be sure to mark your project complete, update your business tracker, and start a new project!