[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"detail-sidebar-cat-1-en-105":3,"doc-seo-204708-105":53,"doc-detail-204708-en":126},{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":6},0,"success",[7,14,19,24,29,34,39,44,49],{"id":8,"doc_module":9,"doc_module_name":10,"category_name":11,"show_sort_weight":12,"slug":13},11,1,"Template","Presentations",90,"presentations",{"id":15,"doc_module":9,"doc_module_name":10,"category_name":16,"show_sort_weight":17,"slug":18},12,"Resumes",80,"resumes",{"id":20,"doc_module":9,"doc_module_name":10,"category_name":21,"show_sort_weight":22,"slug":23},14,"Invoices",70,"invoices",{"id":25,"doc_module":9,"doc_module_name":10,"category_name":26,"show_sort_weight":27,"slug":28},15,"Posters",60,"posters",{"id":30,"doc_module":9,"doc_module_name":10,"category_name":31,"show_sort_weight":32,"slug":33},16,"Social Media",50,"social-media",{"id":35,"doc_module":9,"doc_module_name":10,"category_name":36,"show_sort_weight":37,"slug":38},17,"Forms",40,"forms",{"id":40,"doc_module":9,"doc_module_name":10,"category_name":41,"show_sort_weight":42,"slug":43},18,"Letters",30,"letters",{"id":45,"doc_module":9,"doc_module_name":10,"category_name":46,"show_sort_weight":47,"slug":48},21,"Paper Templates",5,"papers-templates",{"id":50,"doc_module":9,"doc_module_name":10,"category_name":51,"show_sort_weight":4,"slug":52},158,"General","general-158",{"code":4,"msg":54,"data":55},"ok",{"site_id":56,"language":57,"slug":58,"title":59,"keywords":60,"description":61,"schema_data":62,"social_meta":119,"head_meta":121,"extra_data":123,"updated_unix":125},105,"en","writing-a-business-plan-getting-started","Writing a Business Plan - Getting Started","","Writing a Business Plan provides a structured, practical pathway for turning a business idea into an actionable plan. It outlines what to include from opportunity description and planned operations to financial projections and funding, emphasizing marketing that drives profitable sales. The guide reduces risk through entity formation, insurance, careful operations, and managing customer expectations. It also covers legal and tax considerations, entity types, planning steps, and the anatomy of a business plan including executive summary, marketing, operations, organization, risks, finances, milestones, and business description.",{"@graph":63,"@context":118},[64,80,101],{"@type":65,"itemListElement":66},"BreadcrumbList",[67,71,74,77],{"item":68,"name":69,"@type":70,"position":9},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",{"item":72,"name":10,"@type":70,"position":73},"https://docshare.wps.com/template/",2,{"item":75,"name":11,"@type":70,"position":76},"https://docshare.wps.com/template/presentations/",3,{"item":78,"name":59,"@type":70,"position":79},"https://docshare.wps.com/template/writing-a-business-plan-getting-started/204708/",4,{"url":78,"name":59,"@type":81,"image":82,"author":87,"headline":59,"publisher":90,"fileFormat":93,"inLanguage":57,"description":61,"dateModified":94,"datePublished":95,"encodingFormat":93,"isAccessibleForFree":96,"interactionStatistic":97},"DigitalDocument",{"url":83,"@type":84,"width":85,"height":86},"https://docshare.wps.com/thumbnails/writing-a-business-plan-getting-started/204708.png","ImageObject",442,249,{"name":88,"@type":89},"Mabel","Person",{"url":68,"name":91,"@type":92},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-10-29","2026-09-05",true,{"@type":98,"interactionType":99,"userInteractionCount":25},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":100},"ViewAction",{"@type":102,"mainEntity":103},"FAQPage",[104,110,114],{"name":105,"@type":106,"acceptedAnswer":107},"What key elements does a business plan need to include to get started?","Question",{"text":108,"@type":109},"A business plan should include a business idea, description of the opportunity, planned operations, financial projections, funding needs, and marketing designed to generate profitable sales.","Answer",{"name":111,"@type":106,"acceptedAnswer":112},"How does the guide recommend reducing risk when starting a business?",{"text":113,"@type":109},"It highlights four fundamental considerations: form an entity, get insurance, run the business carefully and prudently, and control customer expectations.",{"name":115,"@type":106,"acceptedAnswer":116},"What sections make up the anatomy of a business plan?",{"text":117,"@type":109},"The plan should cover executive summary, business description, marketing, research and development, operations, organization, critical risks, financials, and milestones with a timetable and action plan.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":78,"og:type":120,"og:title":59,"og:site_name":91,"og:description":61},"article",{"robots":122,"canonical":78},"index,follow",{"doc_id":124,"site_id":56},204708,1791726373,{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":127},{"doc_id":124,"user_id":128,"nickname":88,"user_avatar":129,"doc_module":9,"category_id":8,"category_name":11,"doc_title":59,"doc_description":61,"doc_content":130,"file_id":131,"file_url":132,"file_type":133,"file_size":134,"view_count":25,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":9,"is_downloadable":9,"audit_status":9,"page_count":135,"language":136,"language_code":57,"site_id":56,"html_lang":57,"table_of_contents":137,"faqs":138,"seo_title":139,"seo_description":61,"update_tm":140,"read_time":141},7971474920318,"https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/avatar/74000ee537e6b0ca360?x-image-process=image/resize,m_fixed,w_180,h_180&k=1788430171632181674","Writing a Business Plan  \nMike Walker  \nSmall Business Development Center at UW – La Crosse  \nGetting Started  \nYou need:  \n• A Business Idea  \n• A Business Plan  \n• Description of the Opportunity  \n• Planned Operations  \n• Financial Projections  \n• Funding to get started  \n• Marketing that generates Profitable Sales  \nThings to Think About  \nFour Fundamental Considerations to Reduce Risk:  \n1. Form an Entity  \n2. Get Insurance  \n3. Run the Business in a Careful and Prudent Manner  \n4. Control Your Customer Expectations  \nLegal, Tax, Other Considerations – Forming an Entity-Limited Liability, Management, Ease of Formation, Formalities/Informalities, Ability to Raise Capital, Etc .  \nGeneral Entity Types: Sole Proprietor, Partnership, Corporation (C Corp and S Corp), Limited Liability Company (LLC), etc .  \nFirst Steps to Plan Development  \n1. Consider Your Business Idea – What do you need to do to make it happen? What do you have? What do you need? What can you easily get? What will be hard to get?  \n2. Handling the Unknowns – Idea but no product??? Not sure if idea is feasible??? How will I make money??? How will I get money to develop a prototype or run a pilot??? What do I need to start my business (source/use statement)??? Etc.???  \n3. What do I need to know to move forward? Who might be able to assist me in getting started? Will others be part of the team to pursue the plan  \n– what might each contribute ($, time, talents, etc.)  \n4. Developing a Vision . . . Consider YOUR VISION  \nBusiness Plan  \nDefinition:  \nA short, written document that becomes a working model of your business .  \n4 main purposes:  \n• Financing Tool  \n• Feasibility Analysis  \n• Operating Guide  \n• Evaluation  \nBusiness Plan Format  \n• No right or wrong way  \n• Two common categories  \n• Traditional – more detailed  \n• Lean startup – summarizing key points – usually one page  \n• Two parts of a plan  \n• Narrative  \n• Financial projections (numbers)  \nAnatomy of a Business Plan  \nExecutive Summary: Why will business succeed?  \nBusiness Description: What type of business?  \nMarketing: Who are your customers? Competition?  \nResearch and Development: Proprietary considerations  \nOperations: Location, equipment, production  \nOrganization: Management, human resources, entity form  \nCritical Risks: Potential problems, plans to address  \nFinancial: Costs, profits, cash flow, break even point, financial projections, assumptions  \nMilestones: Timetable, action plan  \nExecutive Summary  \n• Usually about a paragraph or two  \n• Often written last  \n• Summarizes key points of the plan  \nBusiness Description  \n• Use your company description to provide detailed information about your company. If you company is already in business, please describe your business history.  \n• Go into detail about the problems your business solves .  \n• Be specific, and list out the consumers, organization, or businesses your company plans to serve .  \nMarket  \n• Divide the market into workable market segments – age, income, product type, geography, buying patterns, customer needs, or other classifications  \n• Define the size of each market segment  \n• Describe the percentage of each market segment you plan to capture  \n• For help with research, see Market research and competitive analysis ( [sba.gov](sba.gov) )","cbCaisiBece4gD9v","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaisiBece4gD9v","pdf",772883,38,"English","# Getting Started\n## Things to Think About\n## First Steps to Plan Development\n# Business Plan\n## Definition and Main Purposes\n## Business Plan Format\n# Anatomy of a Business Plan\n## Executive Summary\n## Business Description\n## Market","[{\"question\":\"What key elements does a business plan need to include to get started?\",\"answer\":\"A business plan should include a business idea, description of the opportunity, planned operations, financial projections, funding needs, and marketing designed to generate profitable sales.\"},{\"question\":\"How does the guide recommend reducing risk when starting a business?\",\"answer\":\"It highlights four fundamental considerations: form an entity, get insurance, run the business carefully and prudently, and control customer expectations.\"},{\"question\":\"What sections make up the anatomy of a business plan?\",\"answer\":\"The plan should cover executive summary, business description, marketing, research and development, operations, organization, critical risks, financials, and milestones with a timetable and action plan.\"}]","Writing a Business Plan - Getting Started | PDF",1788574979,13]