Updated November 2, 2020:

What is a Business Plan?

An LLC business plan template is an outline that helps you form a business plan for your limited liability company. A business plan is a document that sets out an LLC’s goals and how they are to be achieved. This outline should encompass several aspects of an LLC’s agenda and can also be used as a guide for decision making or as a business proposal to show investors. Either way, having a business plan will give you the confidence to advance with your enterprise in a meaningful way.

Who Needs a Business Plan?

A business plan can be useful to you whether you are just starting out or already have a business, or whether you are a sole proprietor, an LLC member, or any other kind of business director. A plan will help you map out strategies for the company, build a framework for a present or future enterprise, and set out goals in your business.

In the end, whether you wish to start an LLC, go from freelance to small business owner, or improve and organize your already existing business, a business plan can help you do it, as well as show others what you intend to do and how you intend to do it.

How Long Should a Business Plan Be?

How long your business plan is will depend on your LLC size and what you intend the plan to be for; the plan can be as long or short as you need it to be.

That said, the more detailed your plan is, the more helpful it may be, since a detailed plan will indicate a clear strategy for you to follow in your endeavors rather than vague notions that give little sense of clear direction.

Also, if you intend to use your business plan to attract investors, the more detailed it is, the better.

How to Write a Business Plan with a Template

The best way to go about writing a business plan is to break it down into smaller elements by subject and intent and then take each one individually. Or, that is to say, you should take a template approach to writing your business plan, thereby making the task less daunting. A standard template for a business plan is as follows:

  1. Cover Page. In this you should offer a simple description of your business and its activities.
  2. Contents Page. This sets out what is to come and lets potential investors, partners, and lenders easily navigate through your plan.
  3. Executive Summary. This offers an overview of your business plan, outlining the steps to be taken to achieve your goals.
  4. Business Background. This highlights your experience and skills and gives a short summary of your LLC’s ownership, history, and mission statement.
  5. Marketing Plan. This will describe the services or products you intend to offer, as well as the pricing and marketing strategy you will pursue to sell them.
  6. Action Plan. This outlines the specific actions you will take to deliver your services and/or products to the customer.
  7. Financial Management, Statements, and Projections. This sets out where your startup capital will come from, what your monthly budget will be, what expenditures you anticipate, what return on investment (ROI) you expect, and what accounting strategies you will use.
  8. Operations. This describes your hiring processes and your anticipated costs for equipment, leasing, and insurance.
  9. Closing statement. This simply restates your goals for your business enterprise.
  10. Appendix. This can include sample marketing material, resumes, statistical analyses, and any other relevant data.

Updating Your Business Plan

Your business plan should not be an inflexible guide but rather a working document that you can consistently look to and revise as your business situation or goals change. Whether this is once a year, once a quarter, or just as you see fit, that is up to you. What is important is to be willing to adjust the plan as needed so that it always is reflective of the current and future direction of your business.

Periodically updating your plan can also help your company and its employees remain focused on the proper goals and perhaps even give you and your business a new sense of purpose as milestones are achieved and new ones are realized.

If you need help creating an LLC business plan template, you can post your legal need on UpCounsel’s marketplace. UpCounsel accepts only the top 5 percent of lawyers. Lawyers on UpCounsel come from law schools such as Harvard Law and Yale and average 14 years of legal experience, including work with or on behalf of companies like Google, Menlo Ventures, and Airbnb.