{"id":1288,"date":"2014-10-22T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2014-10-22T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/writing-a-killer-business-plan\/"},"modified":"2026-01-29T11:04:20","modified_gmt":"2026-01-29T11:04:20","slug":"writing-a-killer-business-plan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/writing-a-killer-business-plan\/","title":{"rendered":"Writing a killer business plan"},"content":{"rendered":"<header class=\"entry-header has-dark-background-color entry-header--has-illustration entry-header--has-illustration--generic\">\n\t<div class=\"container\">\n\t\t<div class=\"entry-header__row row align-center\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"col col-lg-7 col-xlg-6 entry-header__content\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"component component-single-header\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"entry-header__misc text--subtitle text--uppercase text--small\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/category\/growth-customers\/\" class=\"entry-header__link\">Growth &amp; Customers<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"entry-title-wrapper\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h1 class=\"entry-title\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\tWriting a killer business plan\t\t\t\t\t<\/h1>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"entry-header__description\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"single-post-details container\">\n\t\t<div class=\"col\">\n\t\t\t<span class=\"posted-on \">Published <time class=\"entry-date published\" datetime=\"2014-10-22T00:00:00+01:00\">22 October, 2014<\/time><\/span><span class=\"reading-time\"> min read<\/span>\n\t\t<button\n\t\t\ttype=\"button\"\n\t\t\tclass=\"social-share-button button button--icon button--secondary js-social-share-button\"\n\t\t\tdata-share-title=\"Writing a killer business plan\"\n\t\t\tdata-share-url=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/writing-a-killer-business-plan\/\"\n\t\t\tdata-share-text=\"Please read this interesting article\"\n\t\t>\n\t\t\t<span class=\"social-share-button__share-label\">Share<\/span>\n\t\t\t<span class=\"social-share-button__copy-label\" hidden>Copy Link<\/span>\n\t\t\t<span class=\"social-share-button__copy-tooltip\" aria-hidden=\"true\" hidden>Copied<\/span>\n\t\t<\/button>\n\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n\t<\/header>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-post-author has-dark-background-color alignfull\">\n\t<div class=\"container\">\n\t\t<div class=\"col\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"co-authors\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t<div class=\"entry-author-wrapper\">\n\t\t\t<a class=\"entry-author\" href=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/author\/mark-barrett\/\">\n\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"40\" height=\"40\" src=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2017\/08\/Mark_Barrett-350x350.jpg\" class=\"entry-author__image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<span class=\"entry-author__name\">Mark Barrett<\/span>\n\t\t\t<\/a>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Unless you have a spectacular track record as an entrepreneur or an exceptionally great new business idea, you cannot raise capital without a business plan. So what should you include in your business plan?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-business-plan\">Business plan<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">There is typically one stand out reason for a successful <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/cp\/business-planning\/\">business plan<\/a>, and it&#8217;s that the successful business plans contains deep insights into the prospective customers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As an accountant I see a good number of business plans, and this deceptively simple point is missing from 99% of the ones I see. Before getting into the key elements of a good business plan, above all else, I think you should make sure you do your homework when it comes to understanding who your customers are.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Firstly, you have to figure out the group of customers that you want to sell to. Then you have to develop a list of questions, for example &#8220;Why current products don&#8217;t meet their needs?&#8221; and &#8220;What an ideal product would look like?&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">You should then interview at least 20 potential customers and make sure your analysis of their answers to these questions is in the business plan. And your analysis should include key quotes from those potential customers that reinforce the conclusions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A good business plan should cover the following topics:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Executive summary<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Business \/ product description<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Target market<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Plan to gain market share<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Management team<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Cash forecast<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"single-cta\">\n\t<div class=\"single-cta__positioner on-scroll-highlight__target\">\n\t\t<div class=\"single-cta__wrapper has-dark-background-color\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"single-cta__content\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"single-cta__title h3\">Your one stop shop for starting a business<\/h2>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"single-cta__description\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>Thinking about starting a business or already putting your ideas into action? We\u2019ve got the resources, expertise and software to help you achieve your goals.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a\n\t\t\t\t\t\thref=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/cp\/business-planning\/\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\tclass=\"single-cta__button button button--primary\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tid=\"cta-id-9017\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tdata-button-location=\"cta_box\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t>Find out more<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1440\" height=\"810\" src=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2022\/04\/GettyImages-1213042683-1440x810.jpg\" class=\"single-cta__image\" alt=\"Working on strategy and financials\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2022\/04\/GettyImages-1213042683-1440x810.jpg 1440w\" sizes=\"auto, (min-width: 48em) 33vw, 100vw\" \/>\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-executive-summary\">Executive summary<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">If you had two minutes going down an escalator with a potential investor, you should talk them through your executive summary. This should answer questions such as: What is your company&#8217;s mission? Why is it important to you? Why do you think your company can make money pursuing that mission? What is your track record of winning? How much money do you need? What kind of return can I expect if I give you the money? Why?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-business-product-description\">Business \/ product description<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">If you have more than two minutes, the investor will want to know more details. The business \/ product description should describe your company&#8217;s mission and present the details of the product that you have in mind to achieve that mission. This description should also focus on specific product attributes that you think will make it better than the competition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-target-market\">Target market<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The target market section details which group of potential customers your company will target. It describes why you picked that market, its revenues and growth rate, the key factors driving growth, and typical net profit margins in that market. And this section must also present the results of your customer interviews.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-plan-to-gain-market-share\">Plan to gain market share<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The plan to gain market share section will explain the key factors, ranked by importance, which a potential customer uses to decide among competing suppliers. It will also describe how well those customers perceive that competitors perform on the various factors. It will next describe how your product will outperform competitors on key factors. Finally, the plan to gain market share section will set market share goals and describe what your company will do to achieve those goals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-management-team\">Management team<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The management team section of the business plan will present biographies of the members of your team. If you have no prior entrepreneurial experience, investors will be looking for signs that you and your team are winners, this could show up in outstanding academic, athletic, or extra-curricular accomplishments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-cash-forecast\">Cash forecast<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The cash forecast part of the business plan is in many ways the least believable for an investor. What investors are really looking to see whether you put in enough effort to make a detailed estimate of how much cash will be needed to achieve your goals and what revenues and profits will ultimately flow from that investment. The key here is to develop realistic assumptions and to prepare for investors to ask you questions about why you chose them and your sources of information.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">To me the most important part is how well you understand the customers. If you do a good job with that, I think you will boost your venture&#8217;s odds of success considerably.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"single-cta\">\n\t<div class=\"single-cta__positioner on-scroll-highlight__target\">\n\t\t<div class=\"single-cta__wrapper has-dark-background-color\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"single-cta__content\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"single-cta__title h3\">Subscribe to the Sage Advice newsletter<\/h2>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"single-cta__description\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>Join more than 500,000 UK readers and get the best business admin strategies and tactics, as well as actionable advice to help your company thrive, in your inbox every month.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a\n\t\t\t\t\t\thref=\"#gate-b1a63862-3fa0-4a5e-bb67-c76b88bbc6b8\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\tclass=\"single-cta__button button button--primary\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t>Subscribe now<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1440\" height=\"810\" src=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2022\/04\/GettyImages-1073797282-1-1440x810.jpg\" class=\"single-cta__image\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2022\/04\/GettyImages-1073797282-1-1440x810.jpg 1440w\" sizes=\"auto, (min-width: 48em) 33vw, 100vw\" \/>\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n<section class=\"more-topics alignfull has-grey-light-background-color wp-block-sage-post-topics\">\n\t<div class=\"container\">\n\t\t<div class=\"row\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"col col-12 col-lg-4\">\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"more-topics__title h2\">Browse more topics from this article<\/h3>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<div class=\"col col-12 col-lg-8\">\n\t\t\t\t<ul class=\"post-tags__list\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<li class=\"post-tags__item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/tag\/create-business-plan\/\" class=\"post-tags__link button button--secondary\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tCreating a business plan\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<li class=\"post-tags__item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/tag\/start-business\/\" class=\"post-tags__link button button--secondary\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tHow to start a business\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/ul>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/section>\n\n<div class=\"alignfull wp-block-sage-related-posts\">\n\t<section class=\"related-posts card-grid has-dark-background-color\">\n\t<div class=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"row\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"col\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"related-posts__heading related-posts__heading--featured h1\">Explore more wisdom<\/h2>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t<div class=\"row related-posts__featured\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"col card-grid__item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<article\n\t\tclass=\"card-post related-post related-post-0 post-20317 post 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height=\"384\" src=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2021\/04\/M-PESAFoundation_FY19_X3_EnterpriseManagement_31-684x384.jpg\" class=\"card-post__image\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2021\/04\/M-PESAFoundation_FY19_X3_EnterpriseManagement_31-684x384.jpg 684w, https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2021\/04\/M-PESAFoundation_FY19_X3_EnterpriseManagement_31-768x513.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2021\/04\/M-PESAFoundation_FY19_X3_EnterpriseManagement_31-1213x810.jpg 1213w\" sizes=\"auto, (min-width: 48em) 250px, (min-width: 30em) 100vw, 100vw\" \/>\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"card-post__meta\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"card-post__meta-text\"><span class=\"posted-on \"><time class=\"entry-date published\" datetime=\"2026-08-10T13:42:44+01:00\">10 August, 2026<\/time><\/span><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"card-post__meta-text\"><span class=\"reading-time\">7 min read<\/span><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n\t\t<p class=\"card-post__title h5\">\n\t\t\tHow to generate ideas for a small business\t\t<\/p>\n\n\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\n\t<\/article>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"col col-6 col-lg-3 card-grid__item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<article\n\t\tclass=\"card-post related-post related-post-2 post-1054 post type-post status-publish format-standard has-post-thumbnail hentry category-money-matters tag-alternative-finance tag-start-business business_type-small-business\"\n>\n\t\t\t<a\n\t\t\tclass=\"card-post__link\"\n\t\t\thref=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/9-funding-options-for-start-ups\/\"\n\t\t\t\t\t>\n\t\t\t<figure class=\"card-post__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" width=\"684\" height=\"384\" src=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2017\/08\/CycleCentre_GL_060813-268-684x384.jpg\" class=\"card-post__image\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2017\/08\/CycleCentre_GL_060813-268-684x384.jpg 684w, https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2017\/08\/CycleCentre_GL_060813-268-768x511.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2017\/08\/CycleCentre_GL_060813-268.jpg 999w\" sizes=\"auto, (min-width: 48em) 250px, (min-width: 30em) 100vw, 100vw\" \/>\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"card-post__meta\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"card-post__meta-text\"><span class=\"posted-on \"><time class=\"entry-date published\" datetime=\"2026-08-07T15:46:43+01:00\">7 August, 2026<\/time><\/span><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"card-post__meta-text\"><span class=\"reading-time\">10 min read<\/span><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n\t\t<p class=\"card-post__title h5\">\n\t\t\tFunding options for start-ups: 10 ways to fund your business\t\t<\/p>\n\n\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\n\t<\/article>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"col col-6 col-lg-3 card-grid__item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<article\n\t\tclass=\"card-post related-post related-post-3 post-8603 post type-post status-publish format-standard has-post-thumbnail hentry category-strategy-legal-operations tag-start-business business_type-small-business\"\n>\n\t\t\t<a\n\t\t\tclass=\"card-post__link\"\n\t\t\thref=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/ready-to-start-a-small-business\/\"\n\t\t\t\t\t>\n\t\t\t<figure class=\"card-post__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" width=\"684\" height=\"384\" src=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2020\/10\/business-planning-684x384.jpg\" class=\"card-post__image\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2020\/10\/business-planning-684x384.jpg 684w, https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2020\/10\/business-planning-768x546.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2020\/10\/business-planning-1140x810.jpg 1140w\" sizes=\"auto, (min-width: 48em) 250px, (min-width: 30em) 100vw, 100vw\" \/>\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"card-post__meta\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"card-post__meta-text\"><span class=\"posted-on \"><time class=\"entry-date published\" datetime=\"2026-08-07T15:24:49+01:00\">7 August, 2026<\/time><\/span><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"card-post__meta-text\"><span class=\"reading-time\">13 min read<\/span><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n\t\t<p class=\"card-post__title h5\">\n\t\t\tAdvice for small business owners\u00a0in the making\t\t<\/p>\n\n\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\n\t<\/article>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"col col-6 col-lg-3 card-grid__item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<article\n\t\tclass=\"card-post related-post related-post-4 post-9464 post type-post status-publish format-standard has-post-thumbnail hentry category-money-matters tag-business-finances tag-business-support tag-start-business business_type-small-business\"\n>\n\t\t\t<a\n\t\t\tclass=\"card-post__link\"\n\t\t\thref=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/get-funding-start-business\/\"\n\t\t\t\t\t>\n\t\t\t<figure class=\"card-post__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" width=\"684\" height=\"384\" src=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2021\/04\/DSC0267_All-Uses-684x384.jpg\" class=\"card-post__image\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2021\/04\/DSC0267_All-Uses-684x384.jpg 684w, https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2021\/04\/DSC0267_All-Uses-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2021\/04\/DSC0267_All-Uses.jpg 999w\" sizes=\"auto, (min-width: 48em) 250px, (min-width: 30em) 100vw, 100vw\" \/>\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"card-post__meta\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"card-post__meta-text\"><span class=\"posted-on \"><time class=\"entry-date published\" datetime=\"2026-08-05T16:28:12+01:00\">5 August, 2026<\/time><\/span><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"card-post__meta-text\"><span class=\"reading-time\">11 min read<\/span><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n\t\t<p class=\"card-post__title h5\">\n\t\t\tHow to get funding to start a business\t\t<\/p>\n\n\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\n\t<\/article>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Unless you have a spectacular track record as an entrepreneur or an exceptionally great new business idea, you cannot raise capital without a business plan. So what should you include in your business plan? Business plan There is typically one stand out reason for a successful business plan, and it&#8217;s that the successful business plans [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":170,"featured_media":1838,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_sage_video":false,"post_featured_image_hide":false,"sage_hide_published_date":false,"sage_hide_read_time":false,"sage_hide_share_buttons":false,"_pwl_sage_podcast_buzzsprout_src":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[13,12],"business_type":[4],"lilypad":[],"context":[],"industry":[],"persona":[],"imagine_tag":[254,109],"coauthors":[418],"class_list":["post-1288","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-growth-customers","tag-create-business-plan","tag-start-business","business_type-small-business"],"sage_meta":{"region":"en-gb","author_name":"Mark Barrett","featured_image":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2017\/08\/Sage_AUS_AngryDonuts_81I3588.jpg","imagine_tags":{"254":"Business reporting","109":"Small business"}},"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"Sage Advice UK","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog","push-errors":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1288","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/users\/170"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1288"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1288\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/media\/1838"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1288"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1288"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1288"},{"taxonomy":"business_type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/business_type?post=1288"},{"taxonomy":"lilypad","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/lilypad?post=1288"},{"taxonomy":"context","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/context?post=1288"},{"taxonomy":"industry","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/industry?post=1288"},{"taxonomy":"persona","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/persona?post=1288"},{"taxonomy":"imagine_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/imagine_tag?post=1288"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=1288"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}