Now that you have a business idea and understand how to price your product, it is time to create a business plan! We will look at an executive summary example, as well as free templates for business plans, to organize all of our research and ideas. By the end of this tutorial, you will have studied business plan examples, created your own plan and be prepared to dive into marketing, logo design and how to pitch your business.
If your kids want to read an absolutely fantastic book about how a child becomes an entrepreneur, check out The Tuttle Twins and their Spectacular Show Business (the entire Tuttle Twins series gets two huge thumbs up from our kids!) Make sure that you join our Facebook Group and follow us on Pinterest, so you that you won’t miss the additional lessons in this series!
A Business Plan Example
In our original entrepreneurship lesson plan, that was featured in a CNBC article, we touched on the topic of creating a business plan for kids. However, lets take a closer look at the parts of a business plan, before getting to the business plan template for kids!
Parts of a Business Plan
There are generally five parts of a business plan. Some companies may choose to add additional topics, or structure their business plans slightly differently. For example, some organizations will have a separate category for “products and services” or “strategy and implementation.” However, for the sake of keeping things simple, in our business plan example, we will focus on the following five sections.
1. Executive Summary
In this section, you will summarize your entire business plan. The content of the executive summary is your “elevator pitch” that we will work on in a later lesson. Imagine that you are given five minutes to explain to a stranger exactly what your company does. That is an elevator pitch. Why should the stranger be interested in investing in or purchasing your product or service? The executive summary should be clear, concise and compelling! Even though it goes at the beginning of your business plan, it is easiest to write this section last.
2. Company description & structure
What is the purpose of your business? What are you selling? You will also include details such as the following.
- Who are your suppliers?
- What is your expected revenue?
- Do you have any patents or copyrights?
- How will you make the products?
- What is your process for handling inventory?
- Do you have any strategic relationships with other companies that will help you to succeed?
- What is the legal structure of your company? (We will largely skip over this point for now, but for example, this is where you would write if you are a nonprofit vs for profit organization.)
3. Market analysis and strategies
How do you plan to find customers? How will you convince them to purchase your product or service, versus your competitor’s? Do you intend to use advertising? If so, where will you place your ads, and how much will you spend? You will also want to include the following information in the market analysis and strategies section
- What is the size of each group of customers that you want to sell to?
- Research data and statistics about the industry. Is it a growing industry? How much has it grown over the past few years, for example?
- List all of your competitors. Make sure to point out their strengths and weaknesses.
4. Management team and organization
Who is the owner of your company and what is the company’s organizational structure? Investors always say that they invest first in people. That means that the most important thing to investors is that the people running a company are smart and talented! When you put together your team, make sure to pick people with complimentary skills. Let’s say you are very good at designing products, but not very good at advertising or finding customers. However, you know a girl who is very friendly, awesome at social media and great at spreading the word about the latest trends. She could be a good compliment to your skill set! The following are important things to include in this section.
- What does your organizational chart look like? You can create a free organizational chart and see examples of what one is here.
- Who owns the company? If multiple people own the company, what percentage does each person own?
- List a profile for everyone on your management team. What are their names, past experience and main responsibilities in your company?
- Do you have any advisors, accountants or lawyers? These would all be listed here too.
5. Financial plan and projections
You have done your market research and competitive analysis. Therefore, you should have a general idea for how much money you hope to make over the next five years. If you have any historical financial data, such as how much you have sold in the past, that would be included here. If you have not yet sold anything, then this section will mainly include forecasts or your “best guess” for how things will look. Here are a few documents which are often included in this section.
- Income statement – shows how much profit you plan to make over a set amount of time
- Balance sheet – what are your assets (items worth money) and liabilities (money that you owe to other people or companies)
- Cash flow – how much money is coming in and out of your business on a regular basis
- Capital expenditure budget – how much money do you plan to spend on large items like buildings, furniture, fixtures, equipment etc.
Business Plan Template for Kids
I want for you to understand all of the parts of a formal business plan, which is why I went into great detail above. However, we are all at different places with our business ideas! Some of us have a business that is already up and running. Others of us just recently came up with our idea. Here are several different business plan templates for kids. Pick the one that fits best for where your business is right now! Your business plan template can (and should!) change over time, as you grow larger.
1. A Simple Business Plan
If you are just starting out, you probably want a simple business plan. It will not go into as much detail as we outline above. However, it is perfect for kids who are still figuring out exactly how their business will work. This one is my favorite simple business plan example for kids.
2. Teen Entrepreneur Toolbox
If you are a teenager, you will love Anthony O’Neal’s Teen Entrepreneur Toolbox: The Small-Business Guide for Teens. Dave Ramsey only partners with exceptional people, so you know this toolbox is awesome! In my opinion, this works well for motivated pre-teens as well.
3. One Page Business Plan
Are you in a crunch for time? Do you just want to nail down the basics of your business plan for now, and then go into more detail later on? Then, this is the perfect one page business plan for you.
4. Shark Tank Business Plan Printable
If you are a big fan of Shark Tank, then you will love this free, printable business plan and Shark Tank activity.
5. A Business Plan Example
Are you ready to go to the next level? Do you want to create a full business plan? Here are two business plan examples from the U.S. Small Business Administration. This one is for a service business, and this one is for a company that sells a product.
Example of Executive Summary
To create a strong executive summary, you should use the very best parts from each section of your business plan. Your executive summary is just that – a summary! It should not be more than a few pages in length, and it is often just a single page. Therefore, you don’t want to waste space or time with anything but the ultimate pearls from each category. Let’s take a look at a few examples of an executive summary, as well as a template to follow.
Executive Summary Business Plan Example
I may be biased, since my husband went to The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, but I absolutely love the resources that the university publishes. If you want to take a look at well done executive summary examples, Penn put together this fantastic list.
Template for Executive Summary
My favorite template for an executive summary is laid it in this Entrepreneur magazine article. They do a wonderful job of explaining (in easy to understand terms) a simple executive summary format. Another option is to use a blank executive summary template, like this one.
Write a Business Plan!
At this point, it is time to go create your business plan and executive summary! Then, share it with us in our Facebook Group, so that we can give you feedback! You never know what resources, help or ideas you might get by brainstorming!
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