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COMPANY
We design, test, and perfect all our
products at our Mountain and Cycling
design centers and R&D(RESEARCH
AND DEVELOPMENT) lab facilities in
Europe. Outdoor enthusiasts from
around the world inform our
engineering team, and we design our
products with the help of pro athletes
and industry leaders.
Decathlon is the world’s largest
sporting goods retailer, with over
1,700 stores all around the world. With
our vertical business model, including
research and development facilities,
production, and supply chain in-house
- we can offer high-performing
products without the premium
priceProtecting our planet for future
generations isn’t just something we
aspire to—we’re actively working to
reduce our environmental footprint.
How? By eliminating excess
packaging and striving to decrease
Decathlon's total CO2 emissions by at
least 20% by 2026..
HOME BASED professional services
Business Plan

INTRODUCTION
Creating an extensive business plan is unnecessary for most businesses to get started. However,
creating a short business plan offers several benefits that more than outweigh the investment of time:

This template is organized into seven sub-plans or sections to be completed.

1. Executive Summary

2. Company Overview

3. Business Description

4. Market Analysis

5. Operating Plan

6. Marketing and Sales Plan

7. Financial Plan

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Business Plan

It is recommended to complete the Executive Summary last, after all of the other sections have been
completed. As information is filled in, from the Company Overview to the Financial Plan, the writing
should tell the story of the motivation and vision behind the business. Be sure to include what will
make the business successful, how success will be achieved, and how success will be measured.
It is important to keep the business plan updated in order to see progress, celebrate success, and
adjust where issues arise. This is best done on a quarterly, if not monthly, basis.

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Business Plan

1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The Executive Summary should be written last

after the remainder of the plan has been finished. It is an overview (with a sug

If the business requires outside investment or external investors, include how much is needed, how it
will be used, and how it will make the business more profitable. Think of this section as the first thing
a potential investor reads, thus, it must capture their interest quickly.
Suggested headings to organize this business plan include the following.
 Opportunity: What problem will the business solve?

 Mission: What do we do? How do we do it? Whom do we do it for?

 Solution: How will the service uniquely solve the problem identified?

 Market focus: What market and ideal customers will the business target?

 Competitive advantage: How does the business intend to succeed against its competitors?

 Ownership: Who are the major stakeholders in the company?

 Expected returns: What are the key milestones for revenue, profits, growth, and customers?

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Business Plan

2. COMPANY OVERVIEW
The Company Overview is a brief summary of the intended business, including what it uniquely
delivers, the mission, how it got started, market positioning, operational structure, and financial goals.
After reviewing this section, the reader should have a broad understanding of what the business is
setting out to do and how it is organized.
This section is not meant to be lengthy. Keep it short and succinct. This is the snapshot of the
business. The type of business will determine what of the following sections will be required for the
business plan. Only include what is needed to properly represent the business and remove anything
else.
 Company summary:
This is the introductory section to the company, also known as the ‘elevator pitch’ of what t

 Mission statement:
This is a concise statement on the guiding principles of the company and what the company a

 Company history:
This provides the back story, especially the personal story, of why the business was founded. U

 Markets and services:

This outlines the target market and related needs that the company will address. Include brief descriptions of of

 Operational structure:
This describes the operational details of the business. List any potential employees neede

 Financial goals:
This describes the start-up capital needed, projected revenue and profits, forecast, and budget of

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Business Plan

3. BUSINESS DESCRIPTION
This section will first frame the business opportunity and should answer the question: what problem(s)
is the company trying to solve? Use a case example to describe the customers’ pain point and how it
is solved today. If the business’ service addresses something the market has yet to identify as a
problem (for instance, a new mobile app or a new clothing line), then also describe how the business’
solution reduces stress, saves money, or brings joy to the customer.
After framing the opportunity, describe the service in detail and how it is the solution the business
offers, how it solves that problem, and what benefits customers will receive.
This section also describes in more detail how the services will be rendered and the pricing structure
(e.g., fixed rate versus an hourly fee). Describe how the company plans to differentiate from its
competitors. What is the target market and how can the customer capitalize on your unique offering?
Depending on the type of business, the following sections may or may not be necessary. Only include
relevant sections and remove everything else.
 Opportunity:

Describe the current market for the business’ offered service. At a high level, what is the market and

 Product overview:
Describe the service offerings of the business in as much detail as possible. If it is effective to

 Key participants:
Identify any strategic partners in the business, such as critical suppliers, distributors, referral pa

 Pricing:
Provide pricing of the service, gross margin projects, and upgrade paths. Describe why the company’s pric

o Note the difference between working hours and billable hours. All working hours are not
billable. If the business has employees with differing skill levels (for example, in a law practice,
there are associates, paralegals, lawyers, partners, etc.), indicate the various billing rates.
o Communicate rates clearly to clients and customers. If there are potential additional fees which
will be passed on to clients or customers, define and establish them up front.

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Business Plan

4. MARKET ANALYSIS
 Industry type:

Begin with the broader descriptions of the market opportunity. For instance, if the intended busines

 Market segmentation:

This section defines the main market segments and those the business is targeting now. A

 Competition:

All businesses compete in one way or another. It may be with specific, direct competitors or it may b

 SWOT analysis:

A SWOT analysis may be included by completing the boxes below to assess the business’ curren

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Business Plan

STRENGTHS WEAKNESSES
 Advantage  Disadvantages
 Capabilities  Gap in capabilities
 Assets, people  Cash Flow
 Experience  Suppliers
 Financial reserves  Experience
 Value proposition  Areas to improve
 Price, value, quality  Causes of lose sales

SWOT
OPPORTUNITIES THREATS
 Areas to improve  Economy movement
 New segments  Obstacles faced
 Industry trends  Competitor actions
 New products  Political impacts
 New innovations
 Key partnership  Environmental effects
 Loss of key staff
 Market demand

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Business Plan

5. OPERATING PLAN
Additionally, it is necessary to outline how the company currently and will continue to develop and
maintain a loyal customer base. This section includes management responsibilities with dates and
budgets and making sure results can be tracked. What are the envisioned phases for future growth
and the capabilities that need to be in place to realize growth?
The operating plan describes how the business works. Depending on the type of the business,
important elements of this plan should include how the company will bring services to market and
how it will support customers. It is the logistics, technology, and basic blocking and tackling of the
business.
Depending on the type of business, the following sections may or may not be necessary. Only include
what is needed and remove everything else. Remember: try to keep the business plan as short as
possible. Excessive detail in this section could easily make the plan too long.
 Order fulfillment:
Describe the company’s procedures for delivering services to its customers. As a service compa

 Payment:
Describe the standard payment terms and the payment methods accepted. Describe the pricing plans (one

 Technology:
If technology is critical to the business, whether it is part of the service offering or is fundamental to

 Key customers:
Identify any customers that are important to the success of the business due to a partnership, volu

 Key employees and organization:

Describe unique skills or experiences that are required of the current team. If necessary, describe any propri

 Facilities:
As a home-based business, be educated on legalities and tax filings for such business types.

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Business Plan

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Business Plan

6. MARKETING AND SALES PLAN

Promoting the business, whether through generating leads or traffic to a website or store, is one of
the most important functions of any business. In this section of the plan, provide details of intended
marketing of the business. Describe the key messages and channels used for generating leads and
promoting the business. This section should also describe any sales strategy. Depending on the type
of business, the following sections may or may not be necessary. Only include what is needed and
remove everything else.
 Key messages:
Describe the key messages that will elevate services in the target customers’ eyes. If there is samp

 Marketing activities:
Which of the following promotion options provide the company the best chance of product

o Media advertising (newspaper, magazine, television, radio)

o Direct mail
o Telephone solicitation
o Seminars or business conferences
o Joint advertising with other companies
o Word of mouth or fixed signage
o Digital marketing such as social media, email marketing, or SEO
 Sales strategy:
If needed, what will be the sales approach? Will there be full-time commissioned sales people, con

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Business Plan

7. FINANCIAL PLAN
Creating a financial plan is where all of the business planning comes together. Up to this point, the
target market, target customers, and pricing have all been identified. These items, along with
assumptions, will help estimate the company’s sales forecast. The other side of the business will be
what expenses are expected. This is important on an ongoing basis to see when the business is
profitable. It is also important to know what expenses will need to be funded before customer sales,
or the cash they generate, is received.
At a minimum, this section should include estimated start-up costs and projected profit and loss,
along with a summary of the assumptions being made with these projections. Assumptions should
include initial and ongoing sales, along with the timing of these inflows.
 Projected start-up costs:

The table below shows a sample of ongoing and one-time cost items that the business

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Business Plan

START-UP COSTS
Your Home-Based Agency January 1, 20XX
COST ITEMS MONTHS COST/ MONTH ONE-TIME COST TOTAL COST
Advertising/Marketing 3 $300 $2,000 $2,900
Employee Salaries* 4 $500 $2 $2,002
Employee Payroll Taxes and Benefits 4 $100 $1,500 $1,600
Rent/Lease Payments/Utilities 4 $750 $2,500 $5,500
Postage/Shipping 1 $25 $25 $50
Communication/Telephone 4 $70 $280 $560
Computer Equipment $0 $1,500 $1,500
Computer Software $0 $300 $300
Insurance $0 $60 $60
Interest Expense $0 $0 $0
Bank Service Charges $0 $0 $0
Supplies $0 $0 $0
Travel & Entertainment $0 $0 $0
Equipment $0 $2,500 $2,500
Furniture & Fixtures $0 $0 $0
Leasehold Improvements $0 $0 $0
Security Deposit(s) $0 $0 $0
Business Licenses/Permits/Fees $0 $5,000 $5,000
Professional Services - Legal, Accounting $0 $1,500 $1,500
Consultant(s) $0 $0 $0
Inventory $0 $0 $0
Cash-On-Hand (Working Capital) $0 $1,000 $1,000
Miscellaneous $0 $2,000 $2,000
ESTIMATED START-UP BUDGET $26,472
*Based on part-time employees. This may change once you hit your growth benchmark.

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Projected profit and loss model:

The model below shows a sample of the projections a small business is forecasting for their first 12 months of operatio

START-UP COSTS
Your Home-Based Agency January 1, 20XX
REVENUE JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUN JUL AUG SEP OCT NOV DEC YTD
Estimated Sales $5,000 $13,000 $16,000 $7,000 $14,500 $16,400 $22,500 $23,125 $24,549 $22,000 $25,000 $27,349 $216,423
$0
Less Sales Returns & Discounts ($350) $0 ($206) ($234) $0 $0 ($280) ($1,200) ($1,600) $0 ($2,400) ($6,270)
Service Revenue $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $250 $350 $100 $0 $0 $1,245 $1,360 $3,305
Other Revenue $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $1,500 $0 $0 $0 $0 $1,500
Net Sales $5,000 $12,650 $16,000 $6,794 $14,266 $16,650 $22,850 $24,445 $23,349 $20,400 $26,245 $26,309 $214,958
Cost of Goods Sold* $2,000 $5,200 $6,400 $2,800 $5,800 $6,560 $9,000 $9,250 $9,820 $8,800 $10,000 $10,940 $86,569
Gross Profit $3,000 $7,450 $9,600 $3,994 $8,466 $10,090 $13,850 $15,195 $13,529 $11,600 $16,245 $15,369 $128,389
Expenses JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUN JUL AUG SEP OCT NOV DEC YTD
Salaries & Wages $2,500 $2,500 $3,500 $5,000 $5,000 $5,000 $8,000 $9,000 $9,000 $9,000 $9,000 $9,000 $76,500
Marketing/Advertising $400 $450 $450 $450 $900 $900 $900 $900 $900 $900 $1,200 $1,200 $9,550
Sales Commissions $250 $650 $800 $350 $725 $820 $1,125 $1,156 $1,227 $1,100 $1,250 $1,367 $10,821
Rent $1,250 $1,250 $1,250 $1,250 $1,250 $1,250 $1,125 $1,125 $1,125 $1,125 $1,125 $1,125 $15,000
Utilities $250 $150 $200 $200 $200 $250 $250 $250 $200 $200 $250 $250 $2,650
Website Expenses $175 $175 $175 $175 $175 $175 $175 $175 $175 $175 $225 $225 $2,200
Internet/Phone $110 $110 $110 $110 $110 $110 $110 $110 $110 $110 $110 $110 $1,320
Insurance $165 $165 $165 $165 $165 $165 $165 $165 $165 $165 $165 $165 $1,980
Travel $100 $0 $0 $250 $0 $0 $0 $0 $675 $800 $0 $0 $1,825
Legal/Accounting $1,200 $0 $0 $450 $0 $500 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $250 $2,400
Office Supplies $125 $125 $125 $125 $125 $125 $125 $125 $125 $125 $125 $125 $1,500
Interest Expense $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0
Total Expenses $6,525 $5,575 $6,775 $8,525 $8,650 $9,295 $12,100 $13,131 $13,827 $13,825 $13,575 $13,942 $125,746
Income Before Taxes ($3,525) $1,875 $2,825 ($4,531) ($184) $795 $1,750 $2,064 ($298) ($2,225) $2,670 $1,427 $2,643
Income Tax Expense ($529) $281 $424 ($680) ($28) $119 $263 $310 ($45) ($334) $401 $214 $396
NET INCOME ($2,996) $1,594 $2,401 ($3,851) ($156) $676 $1,488 $1,754 ($253) ($1,891) $2,270 $1,213 $2,246
*In the service industry, Cost of Goods Sold is the monetized value of the time spent on the client.

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APPENDIX

START-UP COSTS

Your Home-Based Agency January 1, 20XX

COST ITEMS MONTHS COST/ MONTH ONE-TIME COST TOTAL COST

Advertising/Marketing

Employee Salaries

Employee Payroll Taxes and Benefits

Rent/Lease Payments/Utilities

Postage/Shipping

Communication/Telephone

Computer Equipment

Computer Software

Insurance

Interest Expense

Bank Service Charges

Supplies

Travel & Entertainment

Equipment

Furniture & Fixtures

Leasehold Improvements

Security Deposit(s)

Business Licenses/Permits/Fees

Professional Services - Legal, Accounting

Consultant(s)

Inventory

Cash-On-Hand (Working Capital)

Miscellaneous

ESTIMATED START-UP BUDGET

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Business Plan

Instructions for Getting Started with Estimated

Start-Up Costs
Determining a business' startup costs is critical to ensure enough cash is available to begin business
operations within the budgeted time frame as well as within the cost budget. Startup costs typically
fall within two categories: monthly costs and one-time costs. Monthly costs cover costs that occur
each month during the startup period, and one-time costs are costs that will be incurred once during
the startup period.
Steps for preparation:
 Step 1: Enter the company name and the date this estimate is being prepared.

 Step 2:
Enter the number of months and the monthly cost for each cost item that is recurring. For one-time costs on

 Step 3:
Once all of the costs are entered, review the individual items and total amount to see where the budget can b
HOME BASED professional services
Business Plan

START-UP COSTS
Your Home-Based Agency January 1, 20XX
REVENUE JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUN JUL AUG SEP OCT NOV DEC YTD
Estimated Product Sales
Less Sales Returns & Discounts
Service Revenue
Other Revenue
Net Sales
Cost of Goods Sold
Gross Profit
EXPENSES JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUN JUL AUG SEP OCT NOV DEC YTD
Salaries & Wages
Marketing/Advertising
Sales Commissions
Rent
Utilities
Website Expenses
Internet/Phone
Insurance
Travel
Legal/Accounting
Office Supplies
Interest Expense
Other 1
Total Expenses
Income Before Taxes
Income Tax Expense
NET INCOME
* In the service industry, Cost of Goods Sold is the monetized value of the time spent on the client.

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Instructions for Getting Started on Profit & Loss

Projections
Completing projections for Profit and Loss of a new company is a good exercise to understand and
communicate when the company will begin to break even and see how sales and profits will grow. The
top portion of the model to the left, Revenue, is a good way to forecast sales, month by month for the
first year. The lower portion then applies estimated expenses for the same period of time to derive the
business' profitability.
Steps for preparation:
 Step 1: Enter the company name and the date this projection is being prepared.

 Step 2:

For each month, beginning in January or whenever the start is estimated, enter the expected sales to be. This

 Step 3:
For each month, enter the estimated salaries, marketing, utilities, and other items that are projected.

 Step 4:
Once all of the costs have been entered, review the individual items and total amount to see where projection

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