Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights. Melissa Houston covers financial issues that affect women in business. Creating a successful business starts with a strong plan.

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If you are building a startup long enough, someone will ask for your business plan. Sometimes it is an investor. Sometimes it is a bank. Sometimes it is just you, staring at a blank Google Doc at 11 p ...

Every business starts with a vision, which is distilled and communicated through a business plan. In addition to your high-level hopes and dreams, a strong business plan outlines short-term and ...

Matt Webber is an experienced personal finance writer, researcher, and editor. He has published widely on personal finance, marketing, and the impact of technology on contemporary arts and culture.

Writing a thorough business plan is a necessary if tedious part of starting a business. But it’s not just for the startup phase. It’s also a good practice for existing businesses to review their ...

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own. Investors and other plan readers pay careful attention to the part of your plan describing your operations. Most entrepreneurs are highly ...

The purpose of an executive summary Common mistakes to avoid The first part of your plan that anybody will see, after the title page and table of contents, is the executive summary. This could be ...

We list the best business plan software, to make it simple and easy to better organize your business finances. The whole point of a business plan is that it allows you to evaluate your strengths and ...

Want to start your own business but don't know where to begin? Career expert Tory Johnson breaks down what you need to include in a basic business plan. MLB trade deadline: 6 trades we want to see, ...

A business plan can help you obtain financing by highlighting the characteristics lenders use to assess borrowers. Many, or all, of the products featured on this page are from our advertising partners ...

A business plan includes details about your company’s goals and methods for achieving them Written By Written by Staff Senior Editor, Buy Side Miranda Marquit is a staff senior personal finance editor ...