how to design a cover page of a business plan

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How to Write a Business Plan Cover Page Complete Guide with Examples

Fill the form to download business plan cover page examples.

A business plan cover page may not come to mind when you think of writing your business plan. Although it’s traditionally one of the last sections of a business plan, it’s one of the most crucial.

Your business plan only has one chance to make a good impression on your reader. The cover page of a book or business plan can easily make a person make a decision.

In this article, we will explain the importance of business plan cover pages and provide a step-by-step guide to help you create your own cover page for your business plan. See our real world business plan examples to see what should be included in the other sections of your business plan.

What is a business plan cover page?

The cover page of a business plan summarizes all the important aspects of the business and serves as an introduction to the full business plan. Bankers and investors can quickly determine the purpose of a business plan by viewing the cover page.

You should include the name of your company, your logo, addresses, and other information that identifies your business. This is the first page of your plan, so it should look professional, visually pleasing, and informative.

What is the purpose of a cover page?

The purpose of the cover page is to communicate what the document enclosed is and to provide information that enables a reader to contact you about your business.

Make sure your business plan’s cover page is visually appealing, free of errors, and concise to set the tone for its content.

A strong business plan cover page should be simple, clean, and powerful. Don’t clutter your cover page with details about how your business will operate. Save those details for the executive summary .

Whether you are writing a business plan , marketing plan, or proposal, the business plan cover page is an essential part of your plan. Read on to find out which elements your business plan cover page should contain and how to design it for maximum impact.

What to Include in the Business Plan Cover Page?

Although there are no specific rules regarding what should be included on your business plan cover page, we have prepared some essential information that you should not overlook.

Company logo

• Business name
• Document title
• Tagline (optional)
• Contact information and address
• Completion date
• Confidentiality statement

Now let’s look at each of these elements in greater detail so you know what you need to include on your business plan cover page.

1. Company Logo

Use a neat, clean, high-quality logo to make your business plan cover page look professional. The logo should be placed at the top of the page.

The image should be large enough to see details, but not so large that it becomes a distraction. Brand identity begins with your logo. The company logo is the first and most significant section that will capture your readers’ attention immediately.

People are 90% more likely to remember your logo if you place it in the top left corner.

2. Business Name

After the company logo, your company name is the second most important section of your cover page as you want your reader to remember your company name as they read the document.

To make your company name stand out from the rest of the information on the business plan cover page, you should use a readable, bold font that is the largest font on the page.

Please keep in mind that if your company logo includes your company name, you can remove either your company logo or name from the cover page.

You can download 50+ Free Business Plan Templates here that include not only pre-built cover pages but also provide step-by-step guidance in the creation of your entire business plan.

3. Document Title

Plan titles tell the reader immediately what the document is about, whether it is a business plan , marketing plan, expansion plan, recovery plan, or anything else.

It is commonly referred to as a “Business Plan,” but you can also customize it by saying “Five-Year Business Plan” or “Merger Business Plan” if you want to outline more specific objectives.

The title of the plan should be large and prominent on the cover page. Readers should know the purpose of the document immediately.

Increase readability by using a clear, bold font, such as Times New Roman, Garamond, or Arial. It may be difficult to read script lettering and doesn’t appear professional.

Please Note: Make sure your name isn’t more prominent than your business plan title cover page.

4. Tagline (optional)

Business owners sometimes use taglines to describe what they do and how they’re different. It’s optional, but you can also include a catchy slogan or motto describing your business.

A tagline becomes an essential part of your cover page if you want your reader to immediately understand what you do.

Generally, your business plan will be more interesting to investors or readers if the tagline is memorable. A business tagline is a short catchy marketing slogan that signifies your brand or company name, as well as other important aspects of your business.

Create a tagline by describing what you do in a few words. Put your tagline under your company logo on your cover page so readers understand what you do immediately.

5. Contact Information and Address

“Prepared By” contains contact information the reader can use to contact the person. It includes information about the company’s mailing address, phone number, e-mail address, and website.

To make investors aware of where to direct their inquiries, include your name as the business owner as well as the names of any partners or executives.

Try to center this information on the page to maintain consistency in formatting. As long as the information is clearly visible and readable, you may use a smaller font size than you used for the company name and title.

6. Completion Date

When was this plan written? The date is important to readers, so include it (month and year are sufficient).

Under the contact information, write the year (or the year and month) in which the business plan was finalized and published. It’s a good idea to update your business plan throughout the year if you’re including the month, so readers don’t think it’s old.

It is important to note that your company name should appear more prominently than your title and date. Depending on your business plan’s writing style, you may spell out the date, like Jan 20, 2023, or write it numerically, like 20/1/23.

Dates should be formatted consistently throughout the document. To maintain consistency, center the text and use the same font size as your address and contact information.

7. Confidentiality Statement

Adding a confidentiality statement to your cover page protects your idea from being disclosed. It is not required, but you may want to include a confidentiality statement on the cover page, or just text “Confidential” to emphasize that this is a confidential document such as the following:

Example of Confidentiality Statement

It is understood that the information provided in this [Company’s Name] Business Plan is totally confidential, and the reader undertakes not to disclose any aspect of it without the express written consent of the business owner.

How to write a business plan cover page that captures investors' attention?

• Keep it concise and to the point: Investors are busy people, so they don’t want to read a long and rambling cover page. Keep your cover page brief and to the point, highlighting your key business strengths and unique selling points.
• Use clear and concise language: Avoid using jargon or technical language that your target audience may not understand. Use clear and concise language to communicate your business vision and goals.
• Highlight your key business strengths and unique selling points: What makes your business unique and different from the competition? What are your key strengths? Highlight these things on your cover page to grab investors’ attention.
• Make sure your cover page is visually appealing and professional: Your cover page is the first thing that potential investors will see, so it’s important to make a good impression. Use a professional design and layout, and avoid using too many colors or fonts.
• Proofread carefully for any errors: Typos and grammatical errors on your cover page will make you look unprofessional. Proofread your cover page carefully before submitting it to any potential investors.

What are some creative business plan cover page design ideas?

• Use high-quality images or graphics that are relevant to your business: Images and graphics can be a great way to add visual interest to your cover page and make it more engaging for potential investors. Choose high-quality images or graphics that are relevant to your business and that will help to communicate your brand message.
• Use a unique and eye-catching font scheme: Your cover page should stand out from the crowd, so use a unique and eye-catching font scheme. Avoid using overused or generic fonts.
• Use your company colors and branding to create a cohesive look: Your cover page should be consistent with your overall branding. Use your company colors and fonts to create a cohesive look and feel.
• Keep your design simple and elegant: A simple and elegant design is often the most effective. Avoid cluttering your cover page with too much text or too many images and graphics.

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What makes a great cover page for a business plan

Formatting should be consistent.

Messy or unprofessional cover pages can create negative perceptions in your readers’ minds before they even open your business plan.

The cover page of your business plan is the first impression of your company, so your logo, fonts, and brand colors should all work together to capture the reader’s attention.

Follow these best practices to create a cover page that stands out:

Keeping your cover page neat and consistent will allow your reader to perceive your organization and professionalism. Use consistent formatting through

• Maintaining equal spacing between characters and lines
• Choosing fonts that are similar or identical
• Make sure each line of your cover page is centered

When it comes to fonts, it’s best practice to stick to one type of typeface, such as serif or sans serif. It’s also important to choose fonts that are simple, easy to read, and represent your brand.

It is important to ensure your business plan’s cover page is free of spelling and grammatical errors. Make sure you proofread your document several times before publishing the final version, and ask others to review it as well.

The less the better

In your business plan executive summary , you will summarize its contents. The cover page should not do the same. It is also unwise to create a business plan cover that is graphically complicated because the information will be difficult to discern. A strong business plan cover page should be simple, clean, and powerful.

Make use of the color scheme of your company

Color plays a crucial role in establishing your brand’s credibility and trustworthiness. Choosing the right brand color will reveal more about your business than you could ever imagine.

In addition, using the right colors can enhance your brand value by creating a strong visual identity. To make your business plan more appealing, your brand color should be incorporated everywhere, such as titles, subtitles, features, images, etc.

Ensure the colors don’t distract from the important information and consider coordinating them with your company’s brand or logo.

Colors represent 90% of your brand’s personality and elicit the right emotions from your customers, so choose colors that represent your brand’s personality and evoke the right emotions.

When it comes to choosing a logo, simplicity is key. Try to create something that represents your brand and speaks to your audience without being too busy (in other words: white space is your friend).

It’s also important to remember to be practical: your logo should look good in any medium, size, color, and even time period. Beyond your business plan cover page, you’ll need it for your social media, marketing material, or labels.

Download Pack of 6 Business Plan Cover Page Examples

We will show you some real-world business plan cover page examples so you may know how to design your own.

Download Business Plan Cover Page Templates

Here are a few business plan cover examples to illustrate the structure and format. Download and customize it according to your needs.

Business Plan Cover Page Example 1

Business Plan Cover Page Example 2

Business Plan Cover Page Example 3

Business Plan Cover Page Example 4

Business Plan Cover Page Example 5

Business Plan Cover Page Example 6

If you’re not confident in your ability to create a business plan on your own, or if you simply don’t have the time to do so, Wise Business Plans can help.

Our expert business plan writers have years of experience crafting comprehensive plans for businesses of all sizes and industries. We’ll work with you to understand your unique vision and goals, and we’ll create a customized plan that outlines your marketing strategy, target market, financial projections, and more.

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How to write your business plan cover page

When you think of putting together your business plan , the business plan cover page may not be the first thing that comes to mind. While it’s traditionally one of the last sections you create in a business plan, it’s one of the most important.

Definition: What is a business plan cover page?

The cover page of a business plan is used to give an overview of all the key information of your business. This includes your company name, logo, address, and any other information that may define your business. It's the first page of your plan, so it should look professional, visually pleasing, and informative.

When potential investors or banks read a business plan, their first impression is the cover page—but don’t overthink it. A business plan cover page is meant to be simple and straightforward, with some important contact information and, more importantly, your logo.

Use this breakdown to find out what the purpose of your cover page is, which elements you need to include, and how to structure it to maximize your impact:

What is the purpose of a cover page?

Your cover page exists to communicate what the enclosed document is and to provide the necessary information for a reader to contact you about your business.

The appearance and quality of a business plan cover page will set the tone for your business plan’s content, so make sure it’s visually appealing, free of errors, and concise.“ Simple, clean and powerful are the three goals of a strong business plan cover,” suggest the experts at Growthink . Don’t clutter your cover page with details about how your business will operate—save those important details for the executive summary .

What should you include on a business plan cover page?

To keep it simple, your business plan cover page should include:

Company logo

• Document title
• Business name
• Business address and contact information
• Business plan completion date
• Confidentiality statement

How should you format a business plan cover page?

Once you know what information belongs in this section, all that remains now is to organize it. If you need some further guidance, these downloadable templates can streamline the process of drafting a cover page—and the rest of your business plan, too.

1. Company logo

Add a high-resolution thumbnail of your logo at the top of the cover page. This will help establish a brand identity and allow readers to connect visually to the business right from the start.

Hot tip: people are 89% more likely to remember your logo if you put it in the top left corner.

Give the logo some space and then include the words “Business Plan” in a large, bold font. You can also frame the title as “Three–” or “Five–Year Business Plan,” if you intend to make those kinds of financial projections in the document.

3. Business name

Beneath the title, write your company name in a bold font. This should be the most noticeable and prominent feature on the page, so choose a large typeface.

4. Tagline (optional)

This part is optional, but you can also include a catchy slogan or motto that describes your company and what you do.

5. Address and contact information

Under the company name, include your business’s physical address and website if you have one. Provide the details necessary for interested parties to contact you, such as a phone number and email address.

It’s also helpful to include your name as the business owner and the names of any partners or executive officers so that potential investors know where to direct their inquiries.

6. Date of completion

Below the contact information, write the year (or year and month) in which this business plan was finalized and issued. If you’re including the month, it’s a good idea to update it throughout the year as you send out your business plan so readers don’t assume it’s outdated.

7. Confidentiality Statement

At the bottom of the page, include a sentence to the effect of:

“This document contains confidential and proprietary information created by [business name]. This document is issued exclusively for informational purposes and should not be reproduced without the consent of [business name].”

Adding this confidentiality statement offers a protective measure against the disclosure of your business idea , according to this cover page guide .

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Cover page design

Now it’s time for the finishing touches: the actual design of your cover page. Your business plan’s cover page gives the first impression of your business, so your company logo, fonts, and brand colors should all work together to make people want to read more.

Brand colors

90% of a customer’s impression of your business comes from the brand colors you choose, so it’s important to choose colors that represent your business’s personality and elicit the right emotions from your readers.

Don’t know where to start? Grab a pen and paperand write down three emotions you want your customers to feel when they think of your brand. Now you can brainstorm some colors that represent those emotions. For example, you might choose blue if your product is associated with reliability, or yellow if your product is supposed to make your clients feel happy. It’s safer to only choose 2-3 colors , including black, for your color scheme.

You can also analyze the competition and choose colors that help you stand out. Canva has more detailed instructions on how to create your brand color palette .

When it comes to fonts, it’s best practice to stick to one type of typeface, such as serif or sans serif . It’s also important to choose fonts that are simple, easy to read, and represent your brand.

Serif fonts give off the impression that your brand is trustworthy and dependable, and work great for more traditional businesses, like law practices. “Serif fonts have been widely used in books, newspapers, and magazines, which is why they remind us of more classical, formal and sophisticated themes—think of Old English and Roman scripture,” Robyn Young, founder of branding agency robyn young & co, told Canva .

But if you’re going for a more contemporary and youthful feel, then sans serif is the way to go. “Brands that want a modern aesthetic that scales well at different sizes and is easy to read on screens are going to choose sans serif for their main branding elements,” said Young .

When it comes to choosing a logo, simplicity is key. Try to create something that represents your brand and speaks to your audience without being too busy (in other words: white space is your friend).

It’s also important to remember to be practical: your logo should look good in any medium, size, color, and even time period. Beyond your business plan cover page, you’ll need it for your social media, marketing material, or labels.

Business plan cover page examples

To further illustrate the structure and format of a business plan cover page, we’ve compiled a few cover page template examples. The first example from officetemplatesonline is simple but attractive and effectively emphasizes pertinent information. The next cover page example is from a fictional clothing store . They usea pop of color to instantly tell you about their brand personality.

Keep your business plan cover page simple

As you prepare to write your business plan , remember to keep your cover page simple and concise. With your logo, business name, and contact information, you’ll introduce the reader into your business plan quickly and easily—and set yourself up for success as a result.

Just don’t forget to proofread and keep an eye out for typos!

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Everything you need to know about business plan cover pages

You have only one chance to make a good first impression with the readers of your business plan.

People do judge books—and business plans—by their covers. A quick glance at the cover can easily be enough to make up one’s mind.

So set yourself up for success with a powerful cover page that stands out and entices the reader to find out more about your business.

Here’s everything you need to know:

Definition: What is a Business Plan Cover Page?

Cover page (also known as title page or cover sheet) is the first page of a business plan that communicates what the enclosed document is about and highlights the key company information like name, logo and contact details, making a good impression with professional and attractive appearance.

Purpose: Why is Business Plan Cover Page Important?

Many businesses spend hours preparing their business plans but then do not pay enough attention to the title page. This is a huge mistake .

5 ways a strong cover page can help you make a positive first impression:

• Clearly indicate what the presented document is about
• Provide the necessary information for a reader to contact you
• Create a powerful first impact that sets the stage for how readers will engage with your document
• Avoid falling victim to negative preconceived notions as a result or unprofessional or unattractive cover
• Maximize the chance of the plan being read by making the document stand out from the crowd and immediately drawing your reader’s attention

Keep reading to find out which elements you need to include in the cover page, how to structure it to maximize the impact of your business plan, and to take a look at some successful examples .

Contents: What Should You Include in a Business Plan Cover Page?

Surprisingly, there are no strict rules about what to show on your business plan cover sheet, but there certainly are best practices that you should follow.

Here are 9 elements that are typically included on business plan covers, 3 of which are essential and you should not miss to include them. The remaining 6 are optional for your consideration.

1. Must-haves: 3 mandatory cover page elements

1.1. Business name: The name of the company that is the subject of the plan.

1.2. Document title: The words “ Business Plan ” in a prominent spot so that it is clear what kind of document this is.

1.3. Contact information: Name, title and contact details (e.g., phone, email, social media, website, address) of the primary contact persons presenting the plan (e.g., CEO, Founder, Owner, President) so that any interested parties know exactly to whom to direct their inquiries and can reach them quickly and easily.

2. Nice-to-haves: 6 optional cover page elements:

2.1. Company logo: The logo of the company if available and desired.

2.2. Tagline: Short, memorable summary of the business described in the plan.

2.3. Date: In order to make sure your plan does not look outdated, include only the year of the business plan completion date. If you are including both the month also, it is advisable to create a new cover sheet each time you send out the plan.

2.4. Version control: Numbering each copy of the plan enables you to more easily keep track of who you sent what version of the document to.

2.5. Disclaimer: Disclaimer can help protect you and your company from confidentiality and other legal issues resulting from the distribution of the business plan by indicating that the plan is for information only, not an offering of stock in the company, and not to be shared with third parties without your prior consent.

2.6. Visuals: Graphic elements or images to enhance the professional look and visual appeal of the document.

Let’s have a more detailed look at these cover page elements so you know what exactly to include into each of them:

Business Name

The most prominent feature on your business plan cover is the name of your company.

Instantly, the reader should notice the name of your business. In fact, if readers take away nothing else from the cover page, they should remember your company’s name.

As this is the most noticeable feature on the page, use a large font that stands out, but is easy to read, looks professional and corresponds to the typeface that you used for the rest of the document.

Company Logo

Placing a high-quality company logo on the cover page helps to make the business plan look more professional and establish a brand identity by allowing readers to connect visually to the business right from the beginning.

If your logo includes the full name of the company, you do not have to display both the company name and logo on the cover page, it is sufficient to choose one of the two.

Document Title

The readers need to know what the presented document is about – immediately and clearly.

The cover page should clearly state whether it is a Business Plan, Executive Summary, Financial Forecast, Marketing Plan, Recovery Plan, or any other kind of plan.

For example, write the words “ Business Plan ” in a prominent spot on the cover sheet to make it crystal clear what type of document this is. You may include any additional words that are part of the title, such as “Three/Five-Year Business Plan” if needed or relevant.

As a focal point on the cover page, the document title should be in a large font size .

There is no rule though about whether the Document Title or Company Name and Logo should be of the largest font size, as all are of key importance. So it is entirely your decision what feature you prefer to highlight on the cover page of the document.

Contact Information

Contact details should always be on the business plan cover page, letting the reader know who is presenting the document and how to contact them if they need more information.

It is helpful to indicate the names and titles of the company’s primary contact persons for investors and other business plan readers, such as:

• External distribution: company founder, owner, president, partner, CEO
• In-house corporate plans: head of division, departmental manager, executive officer

Next, provide the contact details that will allow the interested parties to reach these primary contact persons quickly and easily, including:

• Name and title of primary contact(s)
• Phone number
• Email address
• Social media handles
• Website address
• Postal address

The contact information is typically displayed in the smallest font on the cover page.

Company tagline, or a motto , is a catchy memorable marketing slogan that captures the essence of a business in a few short and simple words: >> What you do >> How you do it >> Why are you different from the competition

For example, you will undoubtedly recognize the following company mottos:

As such, the tagline is a useful part of the cover page as it helps the business plan readers better understand what you do straight away, and even excite them to read the business plan and study it with more interest.

When was this business plan finalized and issued ? The readers will be interested to know. Hence, it is advisable to state the document completion date on the cover page.

Strictly speaking, you do not need to denote anything more specific that the year in which you completed the business plan. (“Business Plan: 2021”) This will ensure that the plan does not appear outdated for an entire year.

Imagine that you are a potential investor who in December 2021 receives a business plan dated January 2021. It would be natural to assume that the document has been rejected many times by other investors over the last 12 months.

Alternatively, you can include both the current month and year on the cover sheet. (“Business Plan: January 2021”) Each time you update the document and send it out or present it, you will need to check if this date of completion needs updating .

The date is featured on the cover sheet less prominently and in a smaller font size than the document title and company name, and is often displayed below the plan title.

Version Control

As your business develops, you may revise your business plan any number of times and send it to multiple recipients . To keep track of the different versions of the plan that you produce and which version you sent to whom, you may decide to use a version control system.

However, it does not make the best impression when someone receives a “Version 25” of your plan.

Instead, consider devising a simple coding system . For example: “Copy D.5” would indicate it is the fifth copy of a fourth version of the document or “Version 4.5” could mean a fifth copy of a document version completed in April.

Numbering each copy of your business plan before distribution, and keeping a list of which individual has received which copy, would enable you to keep track of how many copies are in circulation, and, if needed, ask to have a copy returned, or trace the responsible party in case a copy is circulated without your permission.

Confidentiality Statement & Disclaimer

Why should your plan include a disclaimer.

Legal issues may arise as a result of circulating your business plan. 

For example, anyone who is in the possession of the document could potentially divulge the confidential information. 

Also, in some countries, offering ownership in your company in return for an investment is considered as selling of stock, which is a regulated activity. The best way to protect yourself is to consult a lawyer.

Nevertheless, including a disclaimer in the business plan helps to protect your company by indicating the plan itself is not an offering of stock for sale but rather a document for information purposes only.

The same disclaimer can also be used to help protect the confidentiality of the information disclosed in your business plan by informing the reader that the plan is confidential and not to be shared with other parties without the owner’s consent, especially when you are not adding a non-disclosure agreement.

What Should the Disclaimer Say?

These are the two most common ways how to show the disclaimer in the business plan:

1. Display a brief disclaimer , just one or two sentences, directly on the front cover , probably at the bottom of the page. Consult a lawyer for the most appropriate wording, but a standard disclaimer might look something to the effect this:

2. Write “ Confidential ” on the cover sheet and include a longer disclaimer and confidentiality statement in the main body of the business plan, perhaps on the first page after the cover sheet.

In addition, you can also include the text “Confidential” into the header or footer of the document.

Design: How Should You Format a Business Plan Cover Page?

The cover page is the first thing the readers will see when they open your business plan. Thus, your business plan cover should be neat , clean , attractive , and professional enough to draw your readers’ attention , make a good first impression and set the tone for your business plan’s content.

Cover page that is messy, dated, unattractive or in any way unprofessional can create negative preconceptions in the recipients’ minds before they even start reading the business plan.

Your design should be clean and professional, which can be accomplished by observing the following best practices:

Visual Identity

Most successful businesses have a strong association with their brand identity , including a company logo, typeface and color scheme. Visual identity helps to establish recognition, familiarity, trust and confidence in customers by evoking the right emotions and sending the right message.

As a result, companies take care to develop a brand identity and keep consistent across all marketing collateral and business materials.

Likewise, your brand identity should be integrated into all parts of your business plan, including the cover page. The best practice is to make the plan consistent with the logo, font type and color scheme as they appear across your other company’s documents.

If you do not have a brand identity created yet, keep the color scheme of the plan cover simple.

The easiest is to have a logo designed, which is inexpensive and easy to do nowadays, and then use your logo colors across the business plan. Alternatively, consider using an online color scheme generator to select colors that go well together.

To stay on the safe side, use maximum of two to three colors, one of which should be black. You can use different shades of the same color (e.g., light blue and dark blue).

First and foremost, the fonts you use in the business plan, including its cover, need to be readable .

The most important information should be displayed in a way that it stands out from the rest of the elements on the business plan cover page, for example, differentiated by font size , weight or color .

Ideally, the typefaces and their color(s) should be consistent with the brand identity used in all of the other company’s marketing materials.

Do not combine more than two typefaces. It is ok to combine a sans-serif (e.g., Times New Roman) with a sans-serif (e.g., Arial) typeface.

Again, less is definitely more here. Refrain from cluttering the business plan cover sheet with photos and graphics.

If you do use a visual element, make sure to leave enough white space around it so the page does not look too busy.

The resolution of any images, including the company logo, should be of high enough quality to not look pixelated.

There is no need for a fancy over-designed cover page, unless you are a large corporation or perhaps a design agency. Equally, beware of any templates with outdated designs that will make your cover look like it was created back in 1999.

Professional designers often combine different alignments (left / right / center) of elements on a page (text, images) to achieve a desired design effect. However, a design novice should play it safe and keep the alignment simple and consistent , especially when it comes to professional documents, such as a business plan.

You should be able to comfortably fit all of the recommended elements on the cover sheet (e.g., company name and logo, document title, contact details, date, disclaimer), and still leave enough white space on the page.

Making a great first impression does not equal to creating a cover that is graphically busy and cluttered with unimportant details. Instead, set yourself up for success by keeping the business plan cover sheet neat , clean , simple and concise .

Proofreading

Carefully proofread the cover page to avoid, at all costs, any mistakes and typos , which would do you a great disservice in the eyes of the reader. Even better, have someone else to look it over.

Finally, make sure that the cover page looks good in every format you will be distributing the business plan in, probably including a PDF electronic file and a printed hard copy.

Some common issues include:

• Photos look pixelated due to low image resolution
• Colors do not print well (e.g., dark font color on a dark background)
• White space left at the edges of a printout because and image does not stretch (i.e., “bleed” in designer terms) enough into the edges of the page

Most importantly, the cover page should look professional and stand out from the crowd so that your business plan has a better chance of being read.

Finally, remember that these aren’t rigid rules. The overall goal for a cover page is to look neat and professional so that it stands out from the crowd and your business plan has a better chance of being read. In the end, that’s the most important outcome.

The cover sheet is the first thing the readers of your business plan will see. Make a good first impression.

Examples: Sample Images

Here are some examples to further illustrate the structure and format of a business plan cover page:

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How to write a business plan cover page: 5 essential tips.

Writing a comprehensive business plan is a great first step in making a successful business.

It’s a good idea to create a business plan, even if you are writing the plan just for yourself. 

If you are writing the plan for potential investors, you’ll want to include a strong business proposal cover page. This helps to entice the recipient to read through your plan.

We’ll break down the 5 steps to creating a successful cover page and some essential tips that will help you along the way.

Here’s What We’ll Cover:

1. Use a Business Cover Page Template 

2. use your business logo, 3. the document title, 4. company information and date, 5. write a confidentiality statement, key takeaways.

Writing a business plan cover page is relatively straightforward.

But when you’re staring at a blank page, the task may suddenly seem very daunting. 

That’s why we recommend using a cover page template. 

Even if you don’t end up using the template, it can inspire ideas and help you get over that initial writing block. 

When somebody looks at your cover letter, it needs to stand out and be unique.

What better way to be unique than by including your business’s logo?

Your logo should be at the top of the page so that it’s the first thing that they see. Make sure that it’s a high-resolution image of the logo, as a blurry or pixelated image will look unprofessional. 

It’s also a good idea to keep the themes of your cover page consistent with your logo. So make sure your cover letter is using the same font type and color scheme as your logo. 

This will help your cover letter catch the eye of the reader and establish brand association.  It also helps them to start associating your logo with your business’s name. 

Next up is writing a short, yet strong document title. 

This is a short step, but it’s an important one. 

When choosing your document title you should be including your company name, and the duration the business plan will cover.

For example:

“Park Avenue Mechanics: A Five-Year Business Plan”

It’s short, simple, and tells the reader exactly what to expect. This should be placed below the logo in large print.  

Another simple, yet important step.

Underneath the title, you’ll need to write the physical business address. This is the address that your company is registered to. Then you should write the business’s contact information and the date. 

The physical address is where the investors or interested parties should send all their inquiries. 

The contact information should include the business phone number, email address and fax number. 

It is also a good idea to include your website address, if you have one, for people wanting to learn more about the public front of your business. 

Then directly below your contact information, write the date that the business plan was completed. This is so the reader can see when the information inside was relevant. Though it’s obviously important to keep your business plan as up-to-date as possible. 

Last but not least is your confidentiality statement. 

This is good legal practice as it can protect your business against anybody leaking the contents of your business plan. 

Your confidentiality statement should be along the lines of this: 

“This document contains confidential information created by [your company name]. This document is issued exclusively for informational purposes, and may not be reproduced or shared without the consent of [your company name].”

This should clear up any confusion that may arise as to the privacy of the document. 

Think of your business plan cover page as your first impression. Don’t put hours upon hours of effort into the business plan itself but then just throw together a quick cover page. 

You could well be shooting yourself in the foot. 

The entire job of the cover page is to make sure the reader not only picks up your business plan but turns the page over and starts reading. 

So once you’ve finished your business plan, make sure you write a good cover letter. 

It could just be the difference. 

Are you looking for more business advice on everything from starting a new business to new business practices? 

Head over to our resource hub .

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How to Write a Business Plan: Step-by-Step Guide + Examples

Noah Parsons

24 min. read

Updated May 7, 2024

Writing a business plan doesn’t have to be complicated. 

In this step-by-step guide, you’ll learn how to write a business plan that’s detailed enough to impress bankers and potential investors, while giving you the tools to start, run, and grow a successful business.

• The basics of business planning

If you’re reading this guide, then you already know why you need a business plan . 

You understand that planning helps you: 

• Raise money
• Grow strategically
• Keep your business on the right track 

As you start to write your plan, it’s useful to zoom out and remember what a business plan is .

At its core, a business plan is an overview of the products and services you sell, and the customers that you sell to. It explains your business strategy: how you’re going to build and grow your business, what your marketing strategy is, and who your competitors are.

Most business plans also include financial forecasts for the future. These set sales goals, budget for expenses, and predict profits and cash flow. 

A good business plan is much more than just a document that you write once and forget about. It’s also a guide that helps you outline and achieve your goals. 

After completing your plan, you can use it as a management tool to track your progress toward your goals. Updating and adjusting your forecasts and budgets as you go is one of the most important steps you can take to run a healthier, smarter business. 

We’ll dive into how to use your plan later in this article.

There are many different types of plans , but we’ll go over the most common type here, which includes everything you need for an investor-ready plan. However, if you’re just starting out and are looking for something simpler—I recommend starting with a one-page business plan . It’s faster and easier to create. 

It’s also the perfect place to start if you’re just figuring out your idea, or need a simple strategic plan to use inside your business.

Dig deeper : How to write a one-page business plan

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• What to include in your business plan

Executive summary

The executive summary is an overview of your business and your plans. It comes first in your plan and is ideally just one to two pages. Most people write it last because it’s a summary of the complete business plan.

Ideally, the executive summary can act as a stand-alone document that covers the highlights of your detailed plan. 

In fact, it’s common for investors to ask only for the executive summary when evaluating your business. If they like what they see in the executive summary, they’ll often follow up with a request for a complete plan, a pitch presentation , or more in-depth financial forecasts .

Your executive summary should include:

• A summary of the problem you are solving
• A description of your product or service
• An overview of your target market
• A brief description of your team
• A summary of your financials
• Your funding requirements (if you are raising money)

Dig Deeper: How to write an effective executive summary

Products and services description

This is where you describe exactly what you’re selling, and how it solves a problem for your target market. The best way to organize this part of your plan is to start by describing the problem that exists for your customers. After that, you can describe how you plan to solve that problem with your product or service. 

This is usually called a problem and solution statement .

To truly showcase the value of your products and services, you need to craft a compelling narrative around your offerings. How will your product or service transform your customers’ lives or jobs? A strong narrative will draw in your readers.

This is also the part of the business plan to discuss any competitive advantages you may have, like specific intellectual property or patents that protect your product. If you have any initial sales, contracts, or other evidence that your product or service is likely to sell, include that information as well. It will show that your idea has traction , which can help convince readers that your plan has a high chance of success.

Market analysis

Your target market is a description of the type of people that you plan to sell to. You might even have multiple target markets, depending on your business. 

A market analysis is the part of your plan where you bring together all of the information you know about your target market. Basically, it’s a thorough description of who your customers are and why they need what you’re selling. You’ll also include information about the growth of your market and your industry .

Try to be as specific as possible when you describe your market. 

Include information such as age, income level, and location—these are what’s called “demographics.” If you can, also describe your market’s interests and habits as they relate to your business—these are “psychographics.” 

Related: Target market examples

Essentially, you want to include any knowledge you have about your customers that is relevant to how your product or service is right for them. With a solid target market, it will be easier to create a sales and marketing plan that will reach your customers. That’s because you know who they are, what they like to do, and the best ways to reach them.

Next, provide any additional information you have about your market. 

What is the size of your market ? Is the market growing or shrinking? Ideally, you’ll want to demonstrate that your market is growing over time, and also explain how your business is positioned to take advantage of any expected changes in your industry.

Dig Deeper: Learn how to write a market analysis

Competitive analysis

Part of defining your business opportunity is determining what your competitive advantage is. To do this effectively, you need to know as much about your competitors as your target customers. 

Every business has some form of competition. If you don’t think you have competitors, then explore what alternatives there are in the market for your product or service. 

For example: In the early years of cars, their main competition was horses. For social media, the early competition was reading books, watching TV, and talking on the phone.

A good competitive analysis fully lays out the competitive landscape and then explains how your business is different. Maybe your products are better made, or cheaper, or your customer service is superior. Maybe your competitive advantage is your location – a wide variety of factors can ultimately give you an advantage.

Dig Deeper: How to write a competitive analysis for your business plan

Marketing and sales plan

The marketing and sales plan covers how you will position your product or service in the market, the marketing channels and messaging you will use, and your sales tactics. 

The best place to start with a marketing plan is with a positioning statement . 

This explains how your business fits into the overall market, and how you will explain the advantages of your product or service to customers. You’ll use the information from your competitive analysis to help you with your positioning. 

For example: You might position your company as the premium, most expensive but the highest quality option in the market. Or your positioning might focus on being locally owned and that shoppers support the local economy by buying your products.

Once you understand your positioning, you’ll bring this together with the information about your target market to create your marketing strategy . 

This is how you plan to communicate your message to potential customers. Depending on who your customers are and how they purchase products like yours, you might use many different strategies, from social media advertising to creating a podcast. Your marketing plan is all about how your customers discover who you are and why they should consider your products and services. 

While your marketing plan is about reaching your customers—your sales plan will describe the actual sales process once a customer has decided that they’re interested in what you have to offer. 

If your business requires salespeople and a long sales process, describe that in this section. If your customers can “self-serve” and just make purchases quickly on your website, describe that process. 

A good sales plan picks up where your marketing plan leaves off. The marketing plan brings customers in the door and the sales plan is how you close the deal.

Together, these specific plans paint a picture of how you will connect with your target audience, and how you will turn them into paying customers.

Dig deeper: What to include in your sales and marketing plan

Business operations

The operations section describes the necessary requirements for your business to run smoothly. It’s where you talk about how your business works and what day-to-day operations look like. 

Depending on how your business is structured, your operations plan may include elements of the business like:

• Supply chain management
• Manufacturing processes
• Equipment and technology
• Distribution

Some businesses distribute their products and reach their customers through large retailers like Amazon.com, Walmart, Target, and grocery store chains. 

These businesses should review how this part of their business works. The plan should discuss the logistics and costs of getting products onto store shelves and any potential hurdles the business may have to overcome.

If your business is much simpler than this, that’s OK. This section of your business plan can be either extremely short or more detailed, depending on the type of business you are building.

For businesses selling services, such as physical therapy or online software, you can use this section to describe the technology you’ll leverage, what goes into your service, and who you will partner with to deliver your services.

Dig Deeper: Learn how to write the operations chapter of your plan

Key milestones and metrics

Although it’s not required to complete your business plan, mapping out key business milestones and the metrics can be incredibly useful for measuring your success.

Good milestones clearly lay out the parameters of the task and set expectations for their execution. You’ll want to include:

• A description of each task
• The proposed due date
• Who is responsible for each task

If you have a budget, you can include projected costs to hit each milestone. You don’t need extensive project planning in this section—just list key milestones you want to hit and when you plan to hit them. This is your overall business roadmap. 

Possible milestones might be:

• Website launch date
• Store or office opening date
• First significant sales
• Break even date
• Business licenses and approvals

You should also discuss the key numbers you will track to determine your success. Some common metrics worth tracking include:

• Conversion rates
• Customer acquisition costs
• Profit per customer
• Repeat purchases

It’s perfectly fine to start with just a few metrics and grow the number you are tracking over time. You also may find that some metrics simply aren’t relevant to your business and can narrow down what you’re tracking.

Dig Deeper: How to use milestones in your business plan

Organization and management team

Investors don’t just look for great ideas—they want to find great teams. Use this chapter to describe your current team and who you need to hire . You should also provide a quick overview of your location and history if you’re already up and running.

Briefly highlight the relevant experiences of each key team member in the company. It’s important to make the case for why yours is the right team to turn an idea into a reality. 

Do they have the right industry experience and background? Have members of the team had entrepreneurial successes before? 

If you still need to hire key team members, that’s OK. Just note those gaps in this section.

Your company overview should also include a summary of your company’s current business structure . The most common business structures include:

• Sole proprietor
• Partnership

Be sure to provide an overview of how the business is owned as well. Does each business partner own an equal portion of the business? How is ownership divided? 

Potential lenders and investors will want to know the structure of the business before they will consider a loan or investment.

Dig Deeper: How to write about your company structure and team

Financial plan

Last, but certainly not least, is your financial plan chapter. 

Entrepreneurs often find this section the most daunting. But, business financials for most startups are less complicated than you think, and a business degree is certainly not required to build a solid financial forecast. 

A typical financial forecast in a business plan includes the following:

• Sales forecast : An estimate of the sales expected over a given period. You’ll break down your forecast into the key revenue streams that you expect to have.
• Expense budget : Your planned spending such as personnel costs , marketing expenses, and taxes.
• Profit & Loss : Brings together your sales and expenses and helps you calculate planned profits.
• Cash Flow : Shows how cash moves into and out of your business. It can predict how much cash you’ll have on hand at any given point in the future.
• Balance Sheet : A list of the assets, liabilities, and equity in your company. In short, it provides an overview of the financial health of your business. 

A strong business plan will include a description of assumptions about the future, and potential risks that could impact the financial plan. Including those will be especially important if you’re writing a business plan to pursue a loan or other investment.

Dig Deeper: How to create financial forecasts and budgets

This is the place for additional data, charts, or other information that supports your plan.

Including an appendix can significantly enhance the credibility of your plan by showing readers that you’ve thoroughly considered the details of your business idea, and are backing your ideas up with solid data.

Just remember that the information in the appendix is meant to be supplementary. Your business plan should stand on its own, even if the reader skips this section.

Dig Deeper : What to include in your business plan appendix

Optional: Business plan cover page

Adding a business plan cover page can make your plan, and by extension your business, seem more professional in the eyes of potential investors, lenders, and partners. It serves as the introduction to your document and provides necessary contact information for stakeholders to reference.

Your cover page should be simple and include:

• Company logo
• Business name
• Value proposition (optional)
• Business plan title
• Completion and/or update date
• Address and contact information
• Confidentiality statement

Just remember, the cover page is optional. If you decide to include it, keep it very simple and only spend a short amount of time putting it together.

Dig Deeper: How to create a business plan cover page

How to use AI to help write your business plan

Generative AI tools such as ChatGPT can speed up the business plan writing process and help you think through concepts like market segmentation and competition. These tools are especially useful for taking ideas that you provide and converting them into polished text for your business plan.

The best way to use AI for your business plan is to leverage it as a collaborator , not a replacement for human creative thinking and ingenuity. 

AI can come up with lots of ideas and act as a brainstorming partner. It’s up to you to filter through those ideas and figure out which ones are realistic enough to resonate with your customers. 

There are pros and cons of using AI to help with your business plan . So, spend some time understanding how it can be most helpful before just outsourcing the job to AI.

Learn more: 10 AI prompts you need to write a business plan

• Writing tips and strategies

To help streamline the business plan writing process, here are a few tips and key questions to answer to make sure you get the most out of your plan and avoid common mistakes .  

Determine why you are writing a business plan

Knowing why you are writing a business plan will determine your approach to your planning project. 

For example: If you are writing a business plan for yourself, or just to use inside your own business , you can probably skip the section about your team and organizational structure. 

If you’re raising money, you’ll want to spend more time explaining why you’re looking to raise the funds and exactly how you will use them.

Regardless of how you intend to use your business plan , think about why you are writing and what you’re trying to get out of the process before you begin.

Keep things concise

Probably the most important tip is to keep your business plan short and simple. There are no prizes for long business plans . The longer your plan is, the less likely people are to read it. 

So focus on trimming things down to the essentials your readers need to know. Skip the extended, wordy descriptions and instead focus on creating a plan that is easy to read —using bullets and short sentences whenever possible.

Have someone review your business plan

Writing a business plan in a vacuum is never a good idea. Sometimes it’s helpful to zoom out and check if your plan makes sense to someone else. You also want to make sure that it’s easy to read and understand.

Don’t wait until your plan is “done” to get a second look. Start sharing your plan early, and find out from readers what questions your plan leaves unanswered. This early review cycle will help you spot shortcomings in your plan and address them quickly, rather than finding out about them right before you present your plan to a lender or investor.

If you need a more detailed review, you may want to explore hiring a professional plan writer to thoroughly examine it.

Use a free business plan template and business plan examples to get started

Knowing what information to include in a business plan is sometimes not quite enough. If you’re struggling to get started or need additional guidance, it may be worth using a business plan template. 

There are plenty of great options available (we’ve rounded up our 8 favorites to streamline your search).

But, if you’re looking for a free downloadable business plan template , you can get one right now; download the template used by more than 1 million businesses. 

Or, if you just want to see what a completed business plan looks like, check out our library of over 550 free business plan examples . 

We even have a growing list of industry business planning guides with tips for what to focus on depending on your business type.

Common pitfalls and how to avoid them

It’s easy to make mistakes when you’re writing your business plan. Some entrepreneurs get sucked into the writing and research process, and don’t focus enough on actually getting their business started. 

Here are a few common mistakes and how to avoid them:

Not talking to your customers : This is one of the most common mistakes. It’s easy to assume that your product or service is something that people want. Before you invest too much in your business and too much in the planning process, make sure you talk to your prospective customers and have a good understanding of their needs.

• Overly optimistic sales and profit forecasts: By nature, entrepreneurs are optimistic about the future. But it’s good to temper that optimism a little when you’re planning, and make sure your forecasts are grounded in reality. 
• Spending too much time planning: Yes, planning is crucial. But you also need to get out and talk to customers, build prototypes of your product and figure out if there’s a market for your idea. Make sure to balance planning with building.
• Not revising the plan: Planning is useful, but nothing ever goes exactly as planned. As you learn more about what’s working and what’s not—revise your plan, your budgets, and your revenue forecast. Doing so will provide a more realistic picture of where your business is going, and what your financial needs will be moving forward.
• Not using the plan to manage your business: A good business plan is a management tool. Don’t just write it and put it on the shelf to collect dust – use it to track your progress and help you reach your goals.
• Presenting your business plan

The planning process forces you to think through every aspect of your business and answer questions that you may not have thought of. That’s the real benefit of writing a business plan – the knowledge you gain about your business that you may not have been able to discover otherwise.

With all of this knowledge, you’re well prepared to convert your business plan into a pitch presentation to present your ideas. 

A pitch presentation is a summary of your plan, just hitting the highlights and key points. It’s the best way to present your business plan to investors and team members.

Dig Deeper: Learn what key slides should be included in your pitch deck

Use your business plan to manage your business

One of the biggest benefits of planning is that it gives you a tool to manage your business better. With a revenue forecast, expense budget, and projected cash flow, you know your targets and where you are headed.

And yet, nothing ever goes exactly as planned – it’s the nature of business.

That’s where using your plan as a management tool comes in. The key to leveraging it for your business is to review it periodically and compare your forecasts and projections to your actual results.

Start by setting up a regular time to review the plan – a monthly review is a good starting point. During this review, answer questions like:

• Did you meet your sales goals?
• Is spending following your budget?
• Has anything gone differently than what you expected?

Now that you see whether you’re meeting your goals or are off track, you can make adjustments and set new targets. 

Maybe you’re exceeding your sales goals and should set new, more aggressive goals. In that case, maybe you should also explore more spending or hiring more employees. 

Or maybe expenses are rising faster than you projected. If that’s the case, you would need to look at where you can cut costs.

A plan, and a method for comparing your plan to your actual results , is the tool you need to steer your business toward success.

Learn More: How to run a regular plan review

Free business plan templates and examples

Kickstart your business plan writing with one of our free business plan templates or recommended tools.

Free business plan template

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How to write a business plan FAQ

What is a business plan?

A document that describes your business , the products and services you sell, and the customers that you sell to. It explains your business strategy, how you’re going to build and grow your business, what your marketing strategy is, and who your competitors are.

What are the benefits of a business plan?

A business plan helps you understand where you want to go with your business and what it will take to get there. It reduces your overall risk, helps you uncover your business’s potential, attracts investors, and identifies areas for growth.

Having a business plan ultimately makes you more confident as a business owner and more likely to succeed for a longer period of time.

What are the 7 steps of a business plan?

The seven steps to writing a business plan include:

• Write a brief executive summary
• Describe your products and services.
• Conduct market research and compile data into a cohesive market analysis.
• Describe your marketing and sales strategy.
• Outline your organizational structure and management team.
• Develop financial projections for sales, revenue, and cash flow.
• Add any additional documents to your appendix.

What are the 5 most common business plan mistakes?

There are plenty of mistakes that can be made when writing a business plan. However, these are the 5 most common that you should do your best to avoid:

• 1. Not taking the planning process seriously.
• Having unrealistic financial projections or incomplete financial information.
• Inconsistent information or simple mistakes.
• Failing to establish a sound business model.
• Not having a defined purpose for your business plan.

What questions should be answered in a business plan?

Writing a business plan is all about asking yourself questions about your business and being able to answer them through the planning process. You’ll likely be asking dozens and dozens of questions for each section of your plan.

However, these are the key questions you should ask and answer with your business plan:

• How will your business make money?
• Is there a need for your product or service?
• Who are your customers?
• How are you different from the competition?
• How will you reach your customers?
• How will you measure success?

How long should a business plan be?

The length of your business plan fully depends on what you intend to do with it. From the SBA and traditional lender point of view, a business plan needs to be whatever length necessary to fully explain your business. This means that you prove the viability of your business, show that you understand the market, and have a detailed strategy in place.

If you intend to use your business plan for internal management purposes, you don’t necessarily need a full 25-50 page business plan. Instead, you can start with a one-page plan to get all of the necessary information in place.

What are the different types of business plans?

While all business plans cover similar categories, the style and function fully depend on how you intend to use your plan. Here are a few common business plan types worth considering.

Traditional business plan: The tried-and-true traditional business plan is a formal document meant to be used when applying for funding or pitching to investors. This type of business plan follows the outline above and can be anywhere from 10-50 pages depending on the amount of detail included, the complexity of your business, and what you include in your appendix.

Business model canvas: The business model canvas is a one-page template designed to demystify the business planning process. It removes the need for a traditional, copy-heavy business plan, in favor of a single-page outline that can help you and outside parties better explore your business idea.

One-page business plan: This format is a simplified version of the traditional plan that focuses on the core aspects of your business. You’ll typically stick with bullet points and single sentences. It’s most useful for those exploring ideas, needing to validate their business model, or who need an internal plan to help them run and manage their business.

Lean Plan: The Lean Plan is less of a specific document type and more of a methodology. It takes the simplicity and styling of the one-page business plan and turns it into a process for you to continuously plan, test, review, refine, and take action based on performance. It’s faster, keeps your plan concise, and ensures that your plan is always up-to-date.

What’s the difference between a business plan and a strategic plan?

A business plan covers the “who” and “what” of your business. It explains what your business is doing right now and how it functions. The strategic plan explores long-term goals and explains “how” the business will get there. It encourages you to look more intently toward the future and how you will achieve your vision.

However, when approached correctly, your business plan can actually function as a strategic plan as well. If kept lean, you can define your business, outline strategic steps, and track ongoing operations all with a single plan.

See why 1.2 million entrepreneurs have written their business plans with LivePlan

Noah is the COO at Palo Alto Software, makers of the online business plan app LivePlan. He started his career at Yahoo! and then helped start the user review site Epinions.com. From there he started a software distribution business in the UK before coming to Palo Alto Software to run the marketing and product teams.

Table of Contents

• Use AI to help write your plan
• Common planning mistakes
• Manage with your business plan
• Templates and examples

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How to design your business plan cover page?

You're probably familiar with the saying, " You don't get two chances to make a lasting impression. ".

In simple words, the first perception that people have about a person, place, or thing is often the one that lasts forever. 

Your cover page acts as a preview and is the first thing that readers will see when they view your business plan - meaning it is imperative that your design is professional, informative and attractive.

There’s no room for negligence and nor should there be considering that the success of your business might hinge on it. A well-designed business plan cover page will encourage investors or lenders to continue reading and learn more about your business.

In this guide:

What is the role of the business plan cover page?

What information should you include on your business plan title page.

• What tools can I use to design my business plan cover page?
• Business plan cover page examples and templates

Design and editorial tips for a professional and impactful cover page

Key takeaways.

A business plan cover page usually includes basic details about the business, such as its name, logo, tagline, and contact details.  

The introductory page or cover page should aim to give the reader an overview of your business’s personality. For both startups and existing businesses, this provides a great opportunity to impress.

Let’s take a look at some of the key roles that a cover page plays in a business plan.

Showcases your brand’s personality

Think of the first page of your business plan as your company's business card. Make it visually appealing and professional to help capture the reader's attention. 

It’s important that both your company logo and color scheme is consistent with your branding and corporate identity. The design should be professional and trustworthy.

Gives a feel for your business

Your business plan cover page design introduces your business plan to potential investors, lenders, partners, and other stakeholders and gives them an insight into your business’s values.

When crafting the cover page, the design chosen should appeal to relevant parties. Whilst you could go for something fancy, it’s often the simple and sleek designs that work best. Remember that professionalism is something that needs to be showcased in your business plan throughout, especially if you are seeking funding from investors or lenders.

Key information, such as your business name, company logo, and contact details, should all be included in your business plan cover page so that the reader doesn’t have to scan the document looking for it.

By showcasing your brand's personality and giving a glimpse into your business, the cover page sets the tone for the rest of your business plan.

Need a convincing business plan?

The Business Plan Shop makes it easy to create a financial forecast to assess the potential profitability of your projects, and write a business plan that’ll wow investors.

Now that we've established the importance of the cover page, let's break down the key elements you should include to make it effective.

Your business plan title page should be clear and concise, and the information provided easy to understand. Aim to avoid clutter or unnecessary information because it doesn’t add any value to your business plan.

Nevertheless, the content present on the cover page should provide sufficient detail to the reader regarding the nature of your business, your brand values and contact information. 

Company name and logo

Ensure that your company name and logo are both clearly displayed on the cover page. This will help increase brand recognition and enhance the document's visual appeal. 

Including a short tagline or slogan can help convey the purpose of the business and creates a positive first impression, but is not mandatory.

Main point of contact

The business plan front cover should also include the phone number and email address of the main point of contact. 

This saves the reader unnecessary hassle because they don’t have to go searching for those details inside your business plan.

Value proposition

Your business plan cover page is the first impression potential investors, partners, or lenders will have of your business.

It's your opportunity to succinctly communicate the unique value your business offers to its target audience.

The value proposition is the essence of what makes your business special.

To write a professional yet catchy value proposition, start by identifying your target market and their pain points. Then, highlight how your product or service solves these pain points better than anyone else:

• For instance, if you're in the retail sector, your value proposition might emphasize convenience, quality, or affordability.
• In the hospitality industry, it could be exceptional customer service or a unique experience.
• In manufacturing, it might focus on efficiency or innovation.
• Agriculture might emphasize sustainability or locally sourced products.
• Construction & real estate could highlight craftsmanship or reliability.
• And business services might emphasize expertise, efficiency, or cost-effectiveness.

Examples of how a business plan cover page value proposition might look like:

• Empowering small businesses with seamless, all-in-one digital marketing solutions.
• Elevating fitness routines with personalized workout plans and virtual coaching.
• Delivering gourmet, farm-to-table meal kits for health-conscious foodies.
• Simplifying travel booking with a user-friendly platform offering personalized itineraries and insider tips.
• Creating memorable event experiences through bespoke, technology-driven event planning services.

Remember that value propositions in this case don't have to be lengthy - in fact it's probably better if you keep yours short and snappy to ensure that the cover page looks attractive. Including a paragraph or two on the cover page can be off-putting for the reader.

By clearly defining your value proposition on your business plan cover page, you set the stage for success and capture the attention of potential stakeholders.

Date of publication 

To provide context to the reader, it's important to include the date that the business plan was written or last updated. This gives the reader an idea about how up-to-date your forecast and other editorial details are likely to be.

Should I include a confidentiality statement on my business plan cover page? 

Your business plan contains sensitive and proprietary information, so it's a good idea to mark the document as confidential. 

From a practical standpoint, however, unless you have a binding non-disclosure agreement (NDA) in place with the reader, any confidential statement you include is unlikely to be enforceable (and, in most cases, it would probably not be economical to enforce even if it was enforceable).

If you are concerned about any future legal implications, it might be better to include a full disclaimer at the end of the document, rather than just a confidentiality statement on your business plan cover page. 

A full disclaimer allows you to address the following aspects clearly:

• Confidentiality statements
• Forward-looking statements (the reader shouldn't rely on your forecasts and should form their own assesment)
• Notice that the document is not an offer to sell securities

In most cases a full disclaimer is an overkill, but you should take advice from your lawyer if you are concerned.

Should I include an index page or table of content on my business plan cover page? 

You should include a table of content but it should be after the first page of a business plan and not on it.

Business plans often span 15 to 30 pages (or more) and having a well-structured table of contents that summarise where each of the main sections and subsections can be found is vital.

It helps readers navigate through your business plan with ease. Be sure to provide page numbers for each section and subsection too (for readers who print the document), and clickable links (for PDF readers).

What tools can I use to design my business plan cover page? 

Now that you have a clear understanding of what your cover page should entail, let's explore some tools that can help you bring your design to life.

During the 1990s, word processors and spreadsheets were commonly used to draft business plans. Their limitations often necessitated to use of external tools to create a professional-looking cover page.

Nowdays, utilising business plan software is considered the optimal approach to write a business plan without making calculation errors in the forecast. And most tools also come equipped with options to design a stylish cover page.

The Business Plan Shop , in particular, offers you the ability to create a visually appealing cover page design that showcases your brand identity. You can customise a cover page template by replacing the information with your own business name, logo, brand colors, and contact information.

Using our business plan software to design your cover page and draft your business plan offers numerous benefits:

• You are guided through the writing process by detailed instructions and examples for each part of the plan
• You can be inspired by already written business plan templates
• You can easily make your financial forecast by letting the software take care of the financial calculations for you without errors
• You get a professional document, formatted and ready to be sent to your bank or investors
• The software will enable you to easily track your actual financial performance against your forecast and update your forecast as time goes by

If you're interested in using this type of solution, you can try our software for free by signing up here .

Business plan cover page examples and templates 

With The Business Plan Shop, you can customize a cover page template by replacing the information with your own business name, logo, contact information, colours, and other details.

You can also adjust the size of the text, layout and design of the cover page to suit your preferences and make it more visually appealing. 

There are four key design and editorial tips to keep in mind whilst drafting your business plan title page:

Choosing the right font and typography

Utilizing colors strategically to make the business plan cover page visually appealing, layout and alignment, obtaining feedback from stakeholders.

Let's explore each of them in more detail.

Your business plan cover page's font and typography play a crucial role in conveying professionalism and readability.

Font selection may seem trivial, but it can significantly impact how your cover page is perceived.

Opt for clean, easily readable fonts like Arial, Poppins or Helvetica and avoid overly decorative fonts that can be difficult to read.

Consider the personality of your business and target audience when choosing fonts. For example, a law firm might choose a more traditional serif font for a professional look, while a creative agency might opt for a modern sans font to convey innovation.

Similarly, if you're a small manufacturing company creating a business plan, you might choose a bold, straightforward font like Arial for headings to convey strength and reliability, while using a simple sans-serif font like Helvetica for body text to ensure readability.

Color is a powerful tool for capturing attention and conveying brand identity on your cover page.

Color psychology can influence how your audience perceives your business and message.

Choose colors that align with your brand identity and evoke the desired emotions.

For instance, blue conveys trust and professionalism, green suggests growth and sustainability, and red signifies energy and urgency.

Use colors sparingly and strategically to draw attention to key elements like your company name or value proposition.

Suppose you're a small construction company creating a business plan.

You might use earthy tones like brown or green to evoke a sense of stability and reliability, while incorporating pops of orange or yellow to convey energy and enthusiasm.

The layout and alignment of your business plan front cover can enhance readability and visual appeal.

A well-organized layout ensures that important information is easy to find and understand.

Keep your layout clean and uncluttered, with ample white space to avoid overwhelming your audience and align elements like text and images consistently to create a cohesive look

Use hierarchy to prioritize information, with key details like your company name and value proposition prominently displayed.

If you're a small retail store, you might align your company name and logo to the center for a traditional look, with your value proposition below to draw attention.

Seeking feedback from stakeholders can provide valuable insights and improve the effectiveness of your cover page.

Feedback helps ensure that your cover page resonates with your target audience and effectively communicates your message.

Share your cover page draft with trusted colleagues, mentors, or advisors for constructive criticism whilst asking for specific feedback on clarity, professionalism, and impact.

By implementing these design and editorial tips, you'll create a cover page that not only looks professional but also effectively communicates your business's identity and purpose.

Let's recap the key points to remember when designing your business plan cover page:

• Your business plan title page is the first impression stakeholders will have of your business, so it's essential to make it professional and impactful.
• The business plan cover page aims to showcase your brand's personality and give a feel for what your business is like.
• Utilize colors strategically to evoke emotion and reinforce your brand identity, ensuring consistency with your overall branding.
• Include key information such as your main point of contact and date of publication on the business plan's first page.
• Utilising business plan software, such as The Business Plan Shop is the best way to create a business plan cover page in no time.

Also on The Business Plan Shop

• How to format a business plan and make it look good
• How investors analyse business plans
• Executive Summary - The most crucial part of your business plan
• How to do a market analysis for a business plan
• Business plan vs pitch deck
• What is the price of a business plan?
• How to present your sales and marketing strategy in your business plan?

Know someone looking to design a business plan cover page? Share this article with them!

Founder & CEO at The Business Plan Shop Ltd

Guillaume Le Brouster is a seasoned entrepreneur and financier.

Guillaume has been an entrepreneur for more than a decade and has first-hand experience of starting, running, and growing a successful business.

Prior to being a business owner, Guillaume worked in investment banking and private equity, where he spent most of his time creating complex financial forecasts, writing business plans, and analysing financial statements to make financing and investment decisions.

Guillaume holds a Master's Degree in Finance from ESCP Business School and a Bachelor of Science in Business & Management from Paris Dauphine University.

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How to Design a Cover Page for Your Business Plan

Paula Kehoe

Reviewed by

December 22, 2021

This article is Tax Professional approved

If you're starting a new business or growing an existing one, it’s critical to have a successful business plan to guide your decisions.

I am the text that will be copied.

Why? A good plan helps you understand your business expenses and cash flow, and it can lay out your goals and track milestones along the way. It’s also important if you’re applying for a loan or approaching potential investors who may be interested in your future business.

That means when you’re writing your business plan, you have one chance to make a good first impression and catch your reader’s attention. It takes a lot of research and planning, but after you’ve finished the hard work of compiling the contents of your plan, you’re still not done. Your business plan’s cover page may seem like an afterthought, but it shouldn’t be. As they say, never judge a book by its cover, but that’s precisely what happens when it comes to business plan cover pages.

A glimpse at the cover page can be enough for someone to decide if they want to pay attention to your business or ignore it. So, before you distribute your business plan, design a cover that stands out and entices interested parties to find out more about your company.

Helpful resource: How to Write Your First Business Plan

What is a business plan cover page?

Think of the cover page (also called a title page) as a welcome mat that leads to your full business plan. It’s meant to be simple and highlight the legal information of your business like a company logo, company name, address, contact details, and other key information.

The quality and appearance of the cover page may influence the perception of the material that follows in your plan—and the credibility of your business. If you want to spark the interest of prospective investors or lenders, you need to make sure that it’s professional, informative, and easy to read.

What is the purpose of a business plan cover page?

The main purpose of any business plan cover page is to inform and enhance your report. Your cover page should communicate a little about the business plan itself and provide the necessary information for a reader to contact you about the business you’re spotlighting.

Keep the cover page concise and focus only on the introductory basics. There’s no need to get into the weeds here. Instead, save those details about how your business will operate for the executive summary, which underlines the most crucial pieces of your plan, such as your short-term and long-term goals.

What should you include on a business plan cover page?

There are no hard-and-fast rules about what to show on your business plan cover page. But there are a few standard elements you should consider adding. Once you know what information you want to use, you just have to arrange it.

1. Document title

Often, the title of these documents is merely “Business Plan.” But you can also customize it with “Five-Year Business Plan” or “Business Acquisition Plan” if you want to outline more explicit goals of your business plan.

Use a clear, bold font to increase readability, like Times New Roman, Garamond, or Arial. Avoid script lettering as it doesn’t come across as professional and may be challenging to read.

2. Business name

Add your company name below the title of the document. Use the same font of the title, but increase the font size slightly, so it stands out. Your company name is a significant part of the cover page, so use sharp, bold text that’s big enough to read clearly. Also, center your company name a few spaces below the title to continue a clean and consistent appearance.

3. Contact information

Below your company name, include a physical address, phone number, email, website, and other details about your business. You can also add a section titled “prepared by” to list your name and credentials, as well as the names of partners or collaborators, so readers know where to direct their inquiries.

To keep consistent formatting, center this information on the page. You can use a smaller font size than you used for your company name and title, as long as the information is clearly visible and legible.

4. Date of completion

Under your company’s contact information, include the month and year you completed your business plan. Use the same font size as your address and contact information, and center the text for consistency.

5. Company logo

Your logo is the foundation of your brand identity. It can draw interest and pique the curiosity of your audience. If you have a high-resolution thumbnail of your company’s logo, add and center it at the top of the page. The logo should be large enough that readers can easily see details, but not so big that it’s a distraction from the rest of the content.

6. Business tagline

Some businesses use a tagline to show what they do and how they’re different from the competition. Think Nike’s “Just Do It” or Dollar Shave Club’s “Shave Time. Shave Money.”

If you have a tagline, add it to your cover page under your company logo so readers understand straight away what you do or how you do it. A memorable tagline can excite an investor so that they’ll take a special interest while evaluating your business plan.

7. Confidentiality statement

At the bottom of your cover page, add a brief confidentiality statement to protect your business’s intellectual property or sensitive information. This may prevent others from disclosing your business plan without your permission.

For this section, use a slightly smaller font size, but try to make sure the text is still visible. Here’s an example of a typical confidentiality statement:

“This document contains confidential, proprietary information created by (your company’s name). It is issued exclusively for informational purposes and should not be reproduced without the consent of (your company’s name).”

Business plan cover page templates

Looking to create a standout cover page? There are dozens of professionally-designed business plan templates, including cover pages, available online. You can download and customize these in a matter of minutes.

If you need help getting started, try one of these:

• Microsoft Word
• Business in a Box
• MS Office Templates

You might even be able to adapt one of Canva’s proposal templates to suit your needs.

How to make your business plan cover page stand out

A cover page that’s messy or unprofessional in any way can create negative preconceptions in your reader’s minds before they even look at your business plan.

Set yourself up for success with a cover page that stands out by following these best practices:

Use consistent formatting

Inconsistent formatting can turn a stable document into chaos. Try to stay consistent when using styles and line spacing. Make sure your fonts are complementary, and don’t select too many—that could be overwhelming.

Proofread it

Because your cover is the first page of a business plan, it’s important to ensure there are zero spelling typos or mistakes within your content. Carefully proofread your document before distributing the final draft and ask someone else to read your work. Having a second set of eyes can smooth out any rough spots and save you potential embarrassment.

Show your brand’s personality

The design elements (color scheme, font type, images) you use can create a memorable, bold statement for your cover page that’ll make a positive impression on your audience. Still, do keep it professional. Coordinate the colors with your company’s logo or brand, and be sure the elements don’t distract from the important details on the cover page.

How Bench can help

While we can’t design a beautiful business plan cover page for you, we can help you out with the contents of that plan. Bench is America’s largest professional bookkeeping service for small businesses. We can handle your bookkeeping and tax filing for you while you focus on starting and running your business. Even if you’re pre-revenue , you need a solid bookkeeping setup—plus, reliable bookkeeping can give you the numbers you need to prove to investors that you’re a good bet.

Even if you aren’t using your business plan to seek funding, including your financial projections offers major benefits. By looking into the future of your business, you can make plans for growth and set realistic goals to reach along the way. Get started with our guide to financial forecasting .

Make a great first impression

Although your business plan cover page has a big job to do, it’s meant to be simple and straightforward. With just a few business details, like your company name, logo, and contact information, the cover page is your first opportunity to stand out and persuade readers that you’re worth the investment.

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How to Write a Business Plan (Plus Examples & Templates)

May 24, 2021

Have you ever wondered how to write a business plan step by step? Mike Andes, told us: 

This guide will help you write a business plan to impress investors.

Throughout this process, we’ll get information from Mike Andes, who started Augusta Lawn Care Services when he was 12 and turned it into a franchise with over 90 locations. He has gone on to help others learn how to write business plans and start businesses.  He knows a thing or two about writing  business plans!

We’ll start by discussing the definition of a business plan. Then we’ll discuss how to come up with the idea, how to do the market research, and then the important elements in the business plan format. Keep reading to start your journey!

What Is a Business Plan?

A business plan is simply a road map of what you are trying to achieve with your business and how you will go about achieving it. It should cover all elements of your business including: 

• Finding customers
• Plans for developing a team
•  Competition
• Legal structures
• Key milestones you are pursuing

If you aren’t quite ready to create a business plan, consider starting by reading our business startup guide .

Get a Business Idea

Before you can write a business plan, you have to have a business idea. You may see a problem that needs to be solved and have an idea how to solve it, or you might start by evaluating your interests and skills. 

Mike told us, “The three things I suggest asking yourself when thinking about starting a business are:

• What am I good at?
• What would I enjoy doing?
• What can I get paid for?”

If all three of these questions don’t lead to at least one common answer, it will probably be a much harder road to success. Either there is not much market for it, you won’t be good at it, or you won’t enjoy doing it. 

As Mike told us, “There’s enough stress starting and running a business that if you don’t like it or aren’t good at it, it’s hard to succeed.”

If you’d like to hear more about Mike’s approach to starting a business, check out our YouTube video

Conduct Market Analysis

Market analysis is focused on establishing if there is a target market for your products and services, how large the target market is, and identifying the demographics of people or businesses that would be interested in the product or service. The goal here is to establish how much money your business concept can make.

Product and Service Demand

A search engine is your best friend when trying to figure out if there is demand for your products and services. Personally, I love using presearch.org because it lets you directly search on a ton of different platforms including Google, Youtube, Twitter, and more. Check out the screenshot for the full list of search options.

With quick web searches, you can find out how many competitors you have, look through their reviews, and see if there are common complaints about the competitors. Bad reviews are a great place to find opportunities to offer better products or services. 

If there are no similar products or services, you may have stumbled upon something new, or there may just be no demand for it. To find out, go talk to your most honest friend about the idea and see what they think. If they tell you it’s dumb or stare at you vacantly, there’s probably no market for it.

You can also conduct a survey through social media to get public opinion on your idea. Using Facebook Business Manager , you could get a feel for who would be interested in your product or service.

 I ran a quick test of how many people between 18-65  you could reach in the U.S. during a week. It returned an estimated 700-2,000 for the total number of leads, which is enough to do a fairly accurate statistical analysis.

Identify Demographics of Target Market

Depending on what type of business you want to run, your target market will be different. The narrower the demographic, the fewer potential customers you’ll have. If you did a survey, you’ll be able to use that data to help define your target audience. Some considerations you’ll want to consider are:

• Other Interests
• Marital Status
• Do they have kids?

Once you have this information, it can help you narrow down your options for location and help define your marketing further. One resource that Mike recommended using is the Census Bureau’s Quick Facts Map . He told us,  

“It helps you quickly evaluate what the best areas are for your business to be located.”

How to Write a Business Plan

Now that you’ve developed your idea a little and established there is a market for it, you can begin writing a business plan. Getting started is easier with the business plan template we created for you to download. I strongly recommend using it as it is updated to make it easier to create an action plan. 

Each of the following should be a section of your business plan:

• Business Plan Cover Page
• Table of Contents
• Executive Summary
• Company Description
• Description of Products and Services

SWOT Analysis

• Competitor Data
• Competitive Analysis
• Marketing Expenses Strategy 

Pricing Strategy

• Distribution Channel Assessment
• Operational Plan
• Management and Organizational Strategy
• Financial Statements and/or Financial Projections

We’ll look into each of these. Don’t forget to download our free business plan template (mentioned just above) so you can follow along as we go. 

How to Write a Business Plan Step 1. Create a Cover Page

The first thing investors will see is the cover page for your business plan. Make sure it looks professional. A great cover page shows that you think about first impressions.

A good business plan should have the following elements on a cover page:

• Professionally designed logo
• Company name
• Mission or Vision Statement
• Contact Info

Basically, think of a cover page for your business plan like a giant business card. It is meant to capture people’s attention but be quickly processed.

How to Write a Business Plan Step 2. Create a Table of Contents

Most people are busy enough that they don’t have a lot of time. Providing a table of contents makes it easy for them to find the pages of your plan that are meaningful to them.

A table of contents will be immediately after the cover page, but you can include it after the executive summary. Including the table of contents immediately after the executive summary will help investors know what section of your business plan they want to review more thoroughly.

Check out Canva’s article about creating a  table of contents . It has a ton of great information about creating easy access to each section of your business plan. Just remember that you’ll want to use different strategies for digital and hard copy business plans.

How to Write a Business Plan Step 3. Write an Executive Summary

An executive summary is where your business plan should catch the readers interest.  It doesn’t need to be long, but should be quick and easy to read.

Mike told us,

How long should an executive summary bein an informal business plan?

For casual use, an executive summary should be similar to an elevator pitch, no more than 150-160 words, just enough to get them interested and wanting more. Indeed has a great article on elevator pitches .  This can also be used for the content of emails to get readers’ attention.

It consists of three basic parts:

• An introduction to you and your business.
• What your business is about.
• A call to action

Example of an informal executive summary 

One of the best elevator pitches I’ve used is:

So far that pitch has achieved a 100% success rate in getting partnerships for the business.

What should I include in an executive summary for investors?

Investors are going to need a more detailed executive summary if you want to secure financing or sell equity. The executive summary should be a brief overview of your entire business plan and include:

• Introduction of yourself and company.
• An origin story (Recognition of a problem and how you came to solution)
• An introduction to your products or services.
• Your unique value proposition. Make sure to include intellectual property.
• Where you are in the business life cycle
• Request and why you need it.

Successful business plan examples

The owner of Urbanity told us he spent 2 months writing a 75-page business plan and received a $250,000 loan from the bank when he was 23. Make your business plan as detailed as possible when looking for financing. We’ve provided a template to help you prepare the portions of a business plan that banks expect.

Here’s the interview with the owner of Urbanity:

When to write an executive summary?

Even though the summary is near the beginning of a business plan, you should write it after you complete the rest of a business plan. You can’t talk about revenue, profits, and expected expenditures if you haven’t done the market research and created a financial plan.

What mistakes do people make when writing an executive summary?

Business owners commonly go into too much detail about the following items in an executive summary:

• Marketing and sales processes
• Financial statements
• Organizational structure
• Market analysis

These are things that people will want to know later, but they don’t hook the reader. They won’t spark interest in your small business, but they’ll close the deal.

How to Write a Business Plan Step 4. Company Description

Every business plan should include a company description. A great business plan will include the following elements while describing the company:

• Mission statement
• Philosophy and vision
• Company goals

Target market

• Legal structure

Let’s take a look at what each section includes in a good business plan.

Mission Statement

A mission statement is a brief explanation of why you started the company and what the company’s main focus is. It should be no more than one or two sentences. Check out HubSpot’s article 27 Inspiring Mission Statement for a great read on informative and inspiring mission and vision statements. 

Company Philosophy and Vision

The company philosophy is what drives your company. You’ll normally hear them called core values.  These are the building blocks that make your company different. You want to communicate your values to customers, business owners, and investors as often as possible to build a company culture, but make sure to back them up.

What makes your company different?

Each company is different. Your new business should rise above the standard company lines of honesty, integrity, fun, innovation, and community when communicating your business values. The standard answers are corporate jargon and lack authenticity. 

Examples of core values

One of my clients decided to add a core values page to their website. As a tech company they emphasized the values:

•  Prioritize communication.
•  Never stop learning.
•  Be transparent.
•  Start small and grow incrementally.

These values communicate how the owner and the rest of the company operate. They also show a value proposition and competitive advantage because they specifically focus on delivering business value from the start. These values also genuinely show what the company is about and customers recognize the sincerity. Indeed has a great blog about how to identify your core values .

What is a vision statement?

A vision statement communicate the long lasting change a business pursues. The vision helps investors and customers understand what your company is trying to accomplish. The vision statement goes beyond a mission statement to provide something meaningful to the community, customer’s lives, or even the world.

Example vision statements

The Alzheimer’s Association is a great example of a vision statement:

A world without Alzheimer’s Disease and other dementia.

It clearly tells how they want to change the world. A world without Alzheimers might be unachievable, but that means they always have room for improvement.

Business Goals

You have to measure success against goals for a business plan to be meaningful. A business plan helps guide a company similar to how your GPS provides a road map to your favorite travel destination. A goal to make as much money as possible is not inspirational and sounds greedy.

Sure, business owners want to increase their profits and improve customer service, but they need to present an overview of what they consider success. The goals should help everyone prioritize their work.

How far in advance should a business plan?

Business planning should be done at least one year in advance, but many banks and investors prefer three to five year business plans. Longer plans show investors that the management team  understands the market and knows the business is operating in a constantly shifting market. In addition, a plan helps businesses to adjust to changes because they have already considered how to handle them.

Example of great business goals

My all time-favorite long-term company goals are included in Tesla’s Master Plan, Part Deux . These goals were written in 2016 and drive the company’s decisions through 2026. They are the reason that investors are so forgiving when Elon Musk continually fails to meet his quarterly and annual goals.

If the progress aligns with the business plan investors are likely to continue to believe in the company. Just make sure the goals are reasonable or you’ll be discredited (unless you’re Elon Musk).

You did target market research before creating a business plan. Now it’s time to add it to the plan so others understand what your ideal customer looks like. As a new business owner, you may not be considered an expert in your field yet, so document everything. Make sure the references you use are from respectable sources. 

Use information from the specific lender when you are applying for lending. Most lenders provide industry research reports and using their data can strengthen the position of your business plan.

A small business plan should include a section on the external environment. Understanding the industry is crucial because we don’t plan a business in a vacuum. Make sure to research the industry trends, competitors, and forecasts. I personally prefer IBIS World for my business research. Make sure to answer questions like:

• What is the industry outlook long-term and short-term?
• How will your business take advantage of projected industry changes and trends?
• What might happen to your competitors and how will your business successfully compete?

Industry resources

Some helpful resources to help you establish more about your industry are:

• Trade Associations
• Federal Reserve
• Bureau of Labor Statistics

Legal Structure

There are five basic types of legal structures that most people will utilize:

• Sole proprietorships
• Limited Liability Companies (LLC)

Partnerships

Corporations.

• Franchises.

Each business structure has their pros and cons. An LLC is the most common legal structure due to its protection of personal assets and ease of setting up. Make sure to specify how ownership is divided and what roles each owner plays when you have more than one business owner.

You’ll have to decide which structure is best for you, but we’ve gathered information on each to make it easier.

Sole Proprietorship

A sole proprietorship is the easiest legal structure to set up but doesn’t protect the owner’s personal assets from legal issues. That means if something goes wrong, you could lose both your company and your home.

To start a sole proprietorship, fill out a special tax form called a  Schedule C . Sole proprietors can also join the American Independent Business Alliance .

Limited Liability Company (LLC)

An LLC is the most common business structure used in the United States because an LLC protects the owner’s personal assets. It’s similar to partnerships and corporations, but can be a single-member LLC in most states. An LLC requires a document called an operating agreement.

Each state has different requirements. Here’s a link to find your state’s requirements . Delaware and Nevada are common states to file an LLC because they are really business-friendly. Here’s a blog on the top 10 states to get an LLC.

Partnerships are typically for legal firms. If you choose to use a partnership choose a Limited Liability Partnership. Alternatively, you can just use an LLC.

Corporations are typically for massive organizations. Corporations have taxes on both corporate and income tax so unless you plan on selling stock, you are better off considering an LLC with S-Corp status . Investopedia has good information corporations here .

There are several opportunities to purchase successful franchises. TopFranchise.com has a list of companies in a variety of industries that offer franchise opportunities. This makes it where an entrepreneur can benefit from the reputation of an established business that has already worked out many of the kinks of starting from scratch.

How to Write a Business Plan Step 5. Products and Services

This section of the business plan should focus on what you sell, how you source it, and how you sell it. You should include:

• Unique features that differentiate your business products from competitors
• Intellectual property
• Your supply chain
• Cost and pricing structure 

Questions to answer about your products and services

Mike gave us a list  of the most important questions to answer about your product and services:

• How will you be selling the product? (in person, ecommerce, wholesale, direct to consumer)?
• How do you let them know they need a product?
• How do you communicate the message?
• How will you do transactions?
• How much will you be selling it for?
• How many do you think you’ll sell and why?

Make sure to use the worksheet on our business plan template .

How to Write a Business Plan Step 6. Sales and Marketing Plan

The marketing and sales plan is focused on the strategy to bring awareness to your company and guides how you will get the product to the consumer.  It should contain the following sections:

SWOT Analysis stands for strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. Not only do you want to identify them, but you also want to document how the business plans to deal with them.

Business owners need to do a thorough job documenting how their service or product stacks up against the competition.

If proper research isn’t done, investors will be able to tell that the owner hasn’t researched the competition and is less likely to believe that the team can protect its service from threats by the more well-established competition. This is one of the most common parts of a presentation that trips up business owners presenting on Shark Tank .

SWOT Examples

Examples of strengths and weaknesses could be things like the lack of cash flow, intellectual property ownership, high costs of suppliers, and customers’ expectations on shipping times.

Opportunities could be ways to capitalize on your strengths or improve your weaknesses, but may also be gaps in the industry. This includes:

• Adding offerings that fit with your current small business
• Increase sales to current customers
• Reducing costs through bulk ordering
• Finding ways to reduce inventory
•  And other areas you can improve

Threats will normally come from outside of the company but could also be things like losing a key member of the team. Threats normally come from competition, regulations, taxes, and unforeseen events.

The management team should use the SWOT analysis to guide other areas of business planning, but it absolutely has to be done before a business owner starts marketing. 

Include Competitor Data in Your Business Plan

When you plan a business, taking into consideration the strengths and weaknesses of the competition is key to navigating the field. Providing an overview of your competition and where they are headed shows that you are invested in understanding the industry.

For smaller businesses, you’ll want to search both the company and the owners names to see what they are working on. For publicly held corporations, you can find their quarterly and annual reports on the SEC website .

What another business plans to do can impact your business. Make sure to include things that might make it attractive for bigger companies to outsource to a small business.

Marketing Strategy

The marketing and sales part of business plans should be focused on how you are going to make potential customers aware of your business and then sell to them.

If you haven’t already included it, Mike recommends:

“They’ll want to know about Demographics, ages, and wealth of your target market.”

Make sure to include the Total addressable market .  The term refers to the value if you captured 100% of the market.

Advertising Strategy

You’ll explain what formats of advertising you’ll be using. Some possibilities are:

• Online: Facebook and Google are the big names to work with here.
• Print : Print can be used to reach broad groups or targeted markets. Check out this for tips .
• Radio : iHeartMedia is one of the best ways to advertise on the radio
• Cable television : High priced, hard to measure ROI, but here’s an explanation of the process
• Billboards: Attracting customers with billboards can be beneficial in high traffic areas.

You’ll want to define how you’ll be using each including frequency, duration, and cost. If you have the materials already created, including pictures or links to the marketing to show creative assets.

Mike told us “Most businesses are marketing digitally now due to Covid, but that’s not always the right answer.”

Make sure the marketing strategy will help team members or external marketing agencies stay within the brand guidelines .

This section of a business plan should be focused on pricing. There are a ton of pricing strategies that may work for different business plans. Which one will work for you depends on what kind of a business you run.

Some common pricing strategies are:

• Value-based pricing – Commonly used with home buying and selling or other products that are status symbols.
• Skimming pricing – Commonly seen in video game consoles, price starts off high to recoup expenses quickly, then reduces over time.
• Competition-based pricing – Pricing based on competitors’ pricing is commonly seen at gas stations.
• Freemium services –  Commonly used for software, where there is a free plan, then purchase options for more functionality.

HubSpot has a great calculator and blog on pricing strategies.

Beyond explaining what strategy your business plans to use, you should include references for how you came to this pricing strategy and how it will impact your cash flow.

Distribution Plan

This part of a business plan is focused on how the product or service is going to go through the supply chain. These may include multiple divisions or multiple companies. Make sure to include any parts of the workflow that are automated so investors can see where cost savings are expected and when.

Supply Chain Examples

For instance, lawn care companies  would need to cover aspects such as:

• Suppliers for lawn care equipment and tools
• Any chemicals or treatments needed
• Repair parts for sprinkler systems
• Vehicles to transport equipment and employees
• Insurance to protect the company vehicles and people.

Examples of Supply Chains

These are fairly flat supply chains compared to something like a clothing designer where the clothes would go through multiple vendors. A clothing company might have the following supply chain:

• Raw materials
• Shipping of raw materials
• Converting of raw materials to thread
• Shipping thread to produce garments
• Garment producer
• Shipping to company
• Company storage
• Shipping to retail stores

There have been advances such as print on demand that eliminate many of these steps. If you are designing completely custom clothing, all of this would need to be planned to keep from having business disruptions.

The main thing to include in the business plan is the list of suppliers, the path the supply chain follows, the time from order to the customer’s home, and the costs associated with each step of the process.

According to BizPlanReview , a business plan without this information is likely to get rejected because they have failed to research the key elements necessary to make sales to the customer.

How to Write a Business Plan Step 7. Company Organization and Operational Plan

This part of the business plan is focused on how the business model will function while serving customers.  The business plan should provide an overview of  how the team will manage the following aspects:

Quality Control

• Legal environment

Let’s look at each for some insight.

Production has already been discussed in previous sections so I won’t go into it much. When writing a business plan for investors, try to avoid repetition as it creates a more simple business plan.

If the organizational plan will be used by the team as an overview of how to perform the best services for the customer, then redundancy makes more sense as it communicates what is important to the business.

Quality control policies help to keep the team focused on how to verify that the company adheres to the business plan and meets or exceeds customer expectations.

Quality control can be anything from a standard that says “all labels on shirts can be no more than 1/16″ off center” to a defined checklist of steps that should be performed and filled out for every customer.

There are a variety of organizations that help define quality control including:

• International Organization for Standardization – Quality standards for energy, technology, food, production environments, and cybersecurity
• AICPA – Standard defined for accounting.
• The Joint Commission – Healthcare
• ASHRAE – HVAC best practices

You can find lists of the organizations that contribute most to the government regulation of industries on Open Secrets . Research what the leaders in your field are doing. Follow their example and implement it in your quality control plan.

For location, you should use information from the market research to establish where the location will be. Make sure to include the following in the location documentation.

• The size of your location
• The type of building (retail, industrial, commercial, etc.)
• Zoning restrictions – Urban Wire has a good map on how zoning works in each state
• Accessibility – Does it meet ADA requirements?
• Costs including rent, maintenance, utilities, insurance and any buildout or remodeling costs
• Utilities – b.e.f. has a good energy calculator .

Legal Environment

The legal requirement section is focused on defining how to meet the legal requirements for your industry. A good business plan should include all of the following:

• Any licenses and/or permits that are needed and whether you’ve obtained them
• Any trademarks, copyrights, or patents that you have or are in the process of applying for
• The insurance coverage your business requires and how much it costs
• Any environmental, health, or workplace regulations affecting your business
• Any special regulations affecting your industry
• Bonding requirements, if applicable

Your local SBA office can help you establish requirements in your area. I strongly recommend using them. They are a great resource.

Your business plan should include a plan for company organization and hiring. While you may be the only person with the company right now, down the road you’ll need more people. Make sure to consider and document the answers to the following questions:

• What is the current leadership structure and what will it look like in the future?
• What types of employees will you have? Are there any licensing or educational requirements?
• How many employees will you need?
• Will you ever hire freelancers or independent contractors?
• What is each position’s job description?
• What is the pay structure (hourly, salaried, base plus commission, etc.)?
• How do you plan to find qualified employees and contractors?

One of the most crucial parts of a business plan is the organizational chart. This simply shows the positions the company will need, who is in charge of them and the relationship of each of them. It will look similar to this:

Our small business plan template has a much more in-depth organizational chart you can edit to include when you include the organizational chart in your business plan.

How to Write a Business Plan Step 8. Financial Statements 

No business plan is complete without financial statements or financial projections. The business plan format will be different based on whether you are writing a business plan to expand a business or a startup business plan. Let’s dig deeper into each.

Provide All Financial Income from an Existing Business

An existing business should use their past financial documents including the income statement, balance sheet, and cash flow statement to find trends to estimate the next 3-5 years.

You can create easy trendlines in excel to predict future revenue, profit and loss, cash flow, and other changes in year-over-year performance. This will show your expected performance assuming business continues as normal.

If you are seeking an investment, then the business is probably not going to continue as normal. Depending on the financial plan and the purpose of getting financing, adjustments may be needed to the following:

• Higher Revenue if expanding business
• Lower Cost of Goods Sold if purchasing inventory with bulk discounts
• Adding interest if utilizing financing (not equity deal)
• Changes in expenses
• Addition of financing information to the cash flow statement
• Changes in Earnings per Share on the balance sheet

Financial modeling is a challenging subject, but there are plenty of low-cost courses on the subject. If you need help planning your business financial documentation take some time to watch some of them.

Make it a point to document how you calculated all the changes to the income statement, balance sheet, and cash flow statement in your business plan so that key team members or investors can verify your research.

Financial Projections For A Startup Business Plan

Unlike an existing business, a startup doesn’t have previous success to model its future performance. In this scenario, you need to focus on how to make a business plan realistic through the use of industry research and averages.

Mike gave the following advice in his interview:

Financial Forecasting Mistakes

One of the things a lot of inexperienced people use is the argument, “If I get one percent of the market, it is worth $100 million.” If you use this, investors are likely to file the document under bad business plan examples.

Let’s use custom t-shirts as an example.

Credence Research estimated in 2018 there were 11,334,800,000 custom t-shirts sold for a total of $206.12 Billion, with a 6% compound annual growth rate.

With that data,  you can calculate that the industry will grow to $270 Billion in 2023 and that the average shirt sold creates $18.18 in revenue.

Combine that with an IBIS World estimate of 11,094 custom screen printers and that means even if you become an average seller, you’ll get .009% of the market.

Here’s a table for easier viewing of that information.

The point here is to make sure your business proposal examples make sense.

You’ll need to know industry averages such as cost of customer acquisition, revenue per customer, the average cost of goods sold, and admin costs to be able to create accurate estimates.

Our simple business plan templates walk you through most of these processes. If you follow them you’ll have a good idea of how to write a business proposal.

How to Write a Business Plan Step 9. Business Plan Example of Funding Requests

What is a business plan without a plan on how to obtain funding?

The Small Business Administration has an example for a pizza restaurant that theoretically needed nearly $20k to make it through their first month.

In our video, How to Start a $500K/Year T-Shirt Business (Pt. 1 ), Sanford Booth told us he needed about $200,000 to start his franchise and broke even after 4 months.

Freshbooks estimates it takes on average 2-3 years for a business to be profitable, which means the fictitious pizza company from the SBA could need up to $330k to make it through that time and still pay their bills for their home and pizza shop.

Not every business needs that much to start, but realistically it’s a good idea to assume that you need a fairly large cushion.

Ways to get funding for a small business

There are a variety of ways to cover this. the most common are:

• Bootstrapping – Using your savings without external funding.
• Taking out debt – loans, credit cards
• Equity, Seed Funding – Ownership of a percentage of the company in exchange for current funds
• Crowdsourcing – Promising a good for funding to create the product

Keep reading for more tips on how to write a business plan.

How funding will be used

When asking for business financing make sure to include:

• How much to get started?
• What is the minimum viable product and how soon can you make money?
• How will the money be spent?

Mike emphasized two aspects that should be included in every plan, 

How to Write a Business Plan Resources

Here are some links to a business plan sample and business plan outline. 

• Sample plan

It’s also helpful to follow some of the leading influencers in the business plan writing community. Here’s a list:

• Wise Plans –  Shares a lot of information on starting businesses and is a business plan writing company.
• Optimus Business Plans –  Another business plan writing company.
• Venture Capital – A venture capital thread that can help give you ideas.

How to Write a Business Plan: What’s Next?

We hope this guide about how to write a simple business plan step by step has been helpful. We’ve covered:

• The definition of a business plan
• Coming up with a business idea
• Performing market research
• The critical components of a business plan
• An example business plan

In addition, we provided you with a simple business plan template to assist you in the process of writing your startup business plan. The startup business plan template also includes a business model template that will be the key to your success.

Don’t forget to check out the rest of our business hub .

Have you written a business plan before? How did it impact your ability to achieve your goals?

80% of businesses fail... Learn how not to.

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Best Franchise Under $100K (2024)

There are thousands of franchise opportunities in the United States and Canada. How are you supposed to choose the best franchise under $100K?

We’ll discuss the top franchises under $100K to help you understand the services they offer, the initial investment involved, and other considerations you need to look at before you get a $100K franchise.

First, we’ll look at our picks for top franchises under $100K, then review cleaning franchises, service businesses, food franchises, and other franchises.

[su_note note_color="#dbeafc"] Read about all your options, or click any link to jump to a specific section, where you’ll learn about companies that are a good fit for your initial investment in a business franchise.

#1. Wise Coatings

#2. maidthis, #3. spray-net, #4. brown’s pressure washing, #5. everline coatings, cleaning franchises for $100k, best service business franchises: top franchises under $100k, top food franchise under $100k, additional food franchises under $100k, more best franchises to own (under $100k), how did we choose the top franchises under $100k.

• Which franchise under $100K is most appealing to you? [/su_note]

Best Franchise Opportunities Under $100K

Upflip has partnered with specific companies that are committed to providing new business owners with the franchise tools they need to become profitable franchises. The best franchises we’ve interacted with, and our top recommendations, are:

• Wise Coatings
• Brown’s Pressure Washing
• EverLine Coatings

We’ll discuss these first.

Brandon Vaughn used just $15,000 to start Wise Coatings . The majority of the initial investment went to marketing and learning how to work with the unique concrete floor coating materials. There are currently eight franchises and 140 applicants (and growing). Wise Coatings helps its franchisees navigate the marketing and systems needed to run the business right. This franchise opportunity requires:

• Franchise Fee: $50,000 • Total Investment: $117,400-$160,000 (including 3 months working capital) • Space Needed: 100-2,000 square feet • Employees: 2-4 employees (suggested) • Territories: Discounts for buying more than 1 • Franchising Funding Assistance: Yes, through Benetrends. Learn how to qualify .

Check out our interview with Brandon below.

Neel Parekh started MaidThis just over 10 years ago, and now the company is making over $166,000 a month . It currently has 17 franchisees and is making a name for itself by helping small business owners start their own remote cleaning companies.

• Franchise Fee: $39,000 • Total Investment: $50,400-$72,650 • Royalty Fee: 7% • Space Needed: 100-2,000 square feet • Employees: Work it yourself or hire employees. • Territories: You can buy more than one territory if they are available in your area. • Franchising Funding Assistance: Yes, through third-party financing services.

Learn more about starting a remote cleaning business franchise below.

Carmelo started Spray-Net because he realized the residential painting space needed modernization to speed up the house painting process. Today, Spray-Net has 40 franchisees and owns patents on its processes so nobody else can offer them.

• Franchise Fee: $45,000 • Total Investment: $170,825-$241,825 • Royalty Fee: 8% • Space Needed: 100-2,000 square feet • Employees: Hire employees or subcontractors to do the cleaning. • Territories: You can buy more than one territory if they are available in your area. • Franchising Funding Assistance: Yes, through third-party financing services.

Learn more about starting a painting franchise in our exclusive interview.

A pressure washing franchise is among the easiest to operate. You don’t need any special skills or a big team, and the initial investment is low.

When you buy a Brown’s franchise , you’ll get extensive training and comprehensive support, making it even easier to turn your investment into long-term success.

• Franchise Fee: $20,000 • Total Investment: $50,000-$100,000 • Royalty Fee: 10% • Space Needed: 100-2,000 square feet • Employees: Hire employees or use subcontractors. • Territories: Multiple territories are allowed. • Franchising Funding Assistance: Yes, through third-party financing services.

You can learn founder Joshua Brown’s successful business strategies in The 7-Figure Pressure Washing Blueprint , or hear his story in this interview:

John Evans started the Canadian company EverLine Coatings and has received the Canadian Franchise Association Awards of Excellence two years running . The average EverLine parking lot repair franchise makes nearly $900K in its first year. To get started you’ll need:

• Franchise Fee: $49,500 • Total Investment: $164,744 - $332,443 • Royalty Fee: 9% or $500 per territory + 3%—whichever is greater • Space Needed: 100-2,000 square feet • Employees: Hire employees to provide the services. • Territories: You can buy more than one territory if they are available in your area. • Franchising Funding Assistance: Yes, through third-party financing services.

Learn more about EverLine Coatings in our interview below.

#6. Augusta Lawn Care Services

Mike Andes is a brilliant entrepreneur who founded Augusta Lawn Care Services when he was a teenager, and today it’s one of the top 500 franchises in the U.S. and Canada. Their franchise opportunities offer low barriers to entry and flat fees instead of the standard percentage model. Here’s what it takes to become an Augusta franchise:

• Franchise Fee: $6,999-$25,000 • Total Investment: $12,999-$82,500 • Royalty Fee: $699-$1,200/mo. • Space Needed: 100-2,000 square feet • Employees: Solopreneur or hire other employees to work for your franchise. • Territories: You can buy more than one territory if they are available in your area. • Franchising Funding Assistance: Yes, through the Franchise Forgiveness Model .

Learn more about starting a lawn care franchise below.

#7. Maid Brigade

The main benefit of franchise business models is having a well-known and established brand reputation to build from.

This is what puts Maid Brigade among the top 10 franchises in the cleaning industry. It’s regularly ranked as one of the Top 100 Franchises for less than $100,000 by Entrepreneur (#44 in 2023).

It’s also a good fit for veteran and minority franchisees, ranked among the top 50 for vets by USA Today and a top 25 franchise for Hispanics by the World Franchising Network.

• Franchise Fee: $27,700-$40,700 • Total Investment: $85,150-$113,850 • Royalty Fee: 3.5%-6.9% • Space Needed: None (can be home-based) • Employees: Average of 4 employees per franchise • Territories: Franchisees get an exclusive operating territory • Franchising Funding Assistance: Third-party financing available

#8. Scoop Soldiers

Scoop Soldiers is a unique opportunity for entrepreneurs to start an in-demand franchise in the yard clean-up sector. With Scoop Soldiers, you ensure homeowners and businesses have clean outdoor spaces by offering pet waste removal solutions.

The unique franchise business model is built to scale while being a good fit for franchisees with busy lives. You can start to operate within 60 days—much faster than many franchises.

Aspiring entrepreneurs also get the option of building from the ground up or moving into an established market. If you want a flexible, corporate-tested franchise under $100K, Scoop Soldiers is one of the top franchises to consider. 

• Franchise Fee: $39,500 • Total Investment: $68,300-$118,300 • Royalty Fee: 8% • Space Needed: None (can be run from home) • Employees: None needed • Territories: Exclusive territories available in all 50 states • Franchising Funding Assistance: Third-party financing available

You can learn more by listening to our interview with Scoop Soldiers’ founder:

#9. Century 21 Real Estate

If you’re interested in the top franchises in the property management sector, Century 21 is among the best cheap franchises to invest in. Investing in a franchise lets you join a community of more than 14,000 franchisees across 86 countries. You’ll get to leverage brand recognition and Century 21’s strong track record of success as a franchise company.

• Franchise Fee: Up to $25,000 • Total Investment: $24,700-$459,250 • Royalty Fee: 6% • Space Needed: 30 square feet per agent • Employees: 1-3 on average • Territories: Exclusive territories available worldwide • Franchising Funding Assistance: In-house financing for startup costs

#10. Dog Wizard franchise

Dog Wizard is the best franchise opportunity for animal lovers. This unique opportunity provides mobile dog training services or a full kennel, meaning franchisees get multiple ways to grow their businesses.

Investing in a franchise gives you access to a four-part comprehensive training program to ensure your services meet the company’s high standards. If you’re dedicated and passionate about animals, this is among the best franchises to explore.

• Franchise Fee: $50,000 • Total Investment: $81,500-$98,250 • Royalty Fee: 8% • Space Needed: Varies (mobile, retail, and boarding options available) • Employees: Solopreneur or run with a team • Territories: Protected territory with 200,000 population (and you can expand your territory easily) • Franchising Funding Assistance: Third-party financing available

Educators seeking the best franchises under $100K may find a Kumon franchise suits their interests.

Kumon provides tutoring services, and franchisees get full access to training, too. This starts with eight days of training in the Kumon Instructor Development Program, followed by hands-on training in the Kumon Curriculum and Kumon Method.

• Franchise Fee: $2,000 • Total Investment: $68,428-$146,640 • Royalty Fee: $36-$40.50 per student per month • Space Needed: Recommended minimum of 1,000 square feet • Employees: 2-3 • Territories: Available across the United States, Canada, and Mexico • Franchising Funding Assistance: Subsidies up to $37,100 and a $10,000 veteran’s incentive

#12. HomeWell Care Services

In-home care for seniors is increasingly in demand. The home care solutions and services you’ll offer with a HomeWell Care franchise set you up for big growth potential, and it’s among the top franchises for entrepreneurs with healthcare experience.

The minimum investment in a HomeWell franchise is only $5,000, so this is also one of the best franchise opportunities for people with limited financial resources.

• Franchise Fee: Up to $49,500 • Total Investment: $52,400-$230,800 • Royalty Fee: 5%-10% • Space Needed: 500-1,000 square feet • Employees: Can run as a solopreneur or with a small team • Territories: Available in 47 states, exclusive territories and site selection support available • Franchising Funding Assistance: Third-party financing available, 20% discount for veterans

#13. Signal Security

Signal is a world-class security brand with a reputation for excellence. It’s among the best franchises under $100K for veterans and law enforcement professionals and is Entrepreneur’s #1 security franchise brand.

• Franchise Fee: $50,000-$200,000 • Total Investment: $57,450-$273,150 • Royalty Fee: 4% • Space Needed: None (can be run from home) • Employees: Average of 2-4 per location • Territories: Available worldwide • Franchising Funding Assistance: In-house and third-party financing available

#14. Cinnabon

Cinnabon is the only food or, more specifically, bakery franchise under $100K with global brand recognition. It also has a relatively low minimum investment for a food franchise, and franchisees get complete training and marketing support.

• Franchise Fee: $5,500-$30,500 • Total Investment: $60,300-$621,400 • Royalty Fee: 6% • Space Needed: 600 square feet on average • Employees: 5+ • Territories: Exclusive territories available in the U.S. and around the world • Franchising Funding Assistance: Third-party financing available

#15. Carvel

This iconic ice cream franchise has been around for more than 80 years, and that staying power is part of what puts it among the top franchises in the food industry.

Franchisees get complete support in multiple facets of their businesses, from menu development to cost optimization, as well as access to a top-notch in-house marketing team.

• Franchise Fee: $10,500-$30,500 • Total Investment: $67,875-$536,400 • Royalty Fee: $2.88/gallon • Space Needed: 100-1,600 square feet • Employees: 2-6 • Territories: Exclusive territories available • Franchising Funding Assistance: Third-party financing available

#16. Champs Chicken

With its low minimum investment and no franchise fee, Champs Chicken is one of the best businesses in the food industry for entrepreneurs with limited financial resources.

They also offer excellent franchisee support, with continual training and a strong investment in the growth of their owners.

• Franchise Fee: $0 • Total Investment: $9,000-$349,000 • Royalty Fee: None • Space Needed: Varies depending on format • Employees: Minimum of 2 • Territories: Available in 11 U.S. states • Franchising Funding Assistance: Third-party financing available

Investing in any of the following franchises could be a great way to start a successful business, whether you want a brick-and-mortar store in your community, a mobile business , or a lucrative creative outlet.

#17. The UPS Store

Buying a UPS Store franchise gives you the power of a recognized brand with a track record of franchise success. The extensive ongoing support and training are what consistently make UPS one of the top franchises to own and manage.

• Franchise Fee: $9,950-$29,950 • Total Investment: $101,819-$476,993 • Royalty Fee: 5% • Space Needed: 800-1,800 square feet • Employees: 3-5 • Territories: Over 5,000 locations available worldwide • Franchising Funding Assistance: In-house financing for all franchisees as well as 10% off for veterans

#18. Cornwell Quality Tools

Cornwell Quality Tools has been a leading name in high-quality, professional equipment for over 100 years, and it is the best franchise to own in the mobile tool and repair industry.

Additionally, it’s a very accessible franchise business, with relatively low up-front costs, excellent training, and strong franchisee support. It’s one of the few all-mobile franchise opportunities, which is one reason it requires such a low initial investment.

• Franchise Fee: $0 • Total Investment: $54,525-$298,825 • Royalty Fee: 7% • Space Needed: None (mobile franchise) • Employees: Can be run as a solopreneur • Territories: Available in 48 states • Franchising Funding Assistance: In-house financing for equipment and startup costs

#19. Minuteman Press

Minuteman Press is the #1 printing and marketing franchise business. It’s among the best franchise opportunities in any industry, offering franchisees multiple revenue streams and local support.

As a full-service marketing provider, you can establish strong recurring revenue streams quickly with a Minuteman Press franchise. There’s a reason it’s one of the companies highlighted by Entrepreneur ’s franchise list, appearing among their top franchises for 20 years in a row.

• Franchise Fee: $32,500-$48,500 • Total Investment: $78,241-$219,529 • Royalty Fee: Up to 6% • Space Needed: 1,000 square feet • Employees: 3 • Territories: Available in all 50 states • Franchising Funding Assistance: Third-party financing available

#20. Big Frog

For aspiring entrepreneurs who want to get into the custom clothing sector , Big Frog is one of the best franchises to open.

• Franchise Fee: $39,500-$60,000 • Total Investment: $180,750-$235,700 • Royalty Fee: 6% • Space Needed: Under 1,200 square feet • Employees: 2-4 required per location • Territories: Available markets in 47 U.S. states and Canada • Franchising Funding Assistance: Veteran discount and third-party financing

You can make great money with this established brand. Since becoming a Big Frog franchisee in 2008, Sanford Booth has consistently made more than $40,000 a month. Hear his story in this interview:

#21. YESCO Sign & Lighting Service

First founded in 1920, YESCO is a family-run company that builds custom signs in addition to providing sign and lighting repair and maintenance services.

You can start a franchise for $100K or less without needing a brick-and-mortar space for the repair side of the business.

• Franchise Fee: $50,000 • Total Investment: $65,000-$389,200 • Royalty Fee: 6% • Space Needed: None (can be run from home) • Employees: 3 • Territories: Available in 39 states and Canada, exclusive territories available • Franchising Funding Assistance: 10% veteran discount and in-house financing available for equipment and franchise fee

#22. Duct Doctor

With over 30 years as a leader in the duct cleaning services market, investing in a Duct Doctor franchise gives you access to their well-known brand and strong marketing and advertising program.

The company also provides extensive training and ongoing support, so you don’t need any special educational background or skills to get started as a franchisee. Another benefit is the growth potential, with ample opportunities to expand beyond your initial market.

• Franchise Fee: $25,000 • Total Investment: $44,100-$201,500 • Royalty Fee: 5%-8% • Space Needed: None (can be home-based) • Employees: 2 • Territories: Worldwide exclusive territories available and option to operate multiple units • Franchising Funding Assistance: Third-party financing available

We use a variety of factors to select the companies we recommend to a potential franchisee. Some of the factors include:

• Initial investment
• Franchisee support
• Profit margins
• Limited competition
• Search engine optimization

Initial Investment

Potential business owners are looking for “Franchise $100K” opportunities, and for this list, we took that specific number into consideration. We use the franchise fee or the total initial investment to judge the franchise up-front costs.

In scenarios where the initial costs are more than that amount, there are other factors that we use when comparing the companies, for example…

Franchisee Support

While costs are important to a franchise business, the main benefit of a franchise is the ability to book clients faster. You don’t have to spend countless hours researching the best strategies to operate your business if the franchise has good business systems.

When it comes to our top five picks, we have personally interacted with the business owners and established that the costs, profit margins, and approaches to finding clients are worth the investment.

Profit Margins

We look for business owners who have created highly automated business structures because the more automation a business uses, the fewer costs (as a percentage of revenue) they have to find and support clients.

Higher profit margins lead to faster business growth and increased personal wealth, which you can then invest in other businesses like rental properties.

Limited Competition

A business that takes a novel approach tends to have less competition, higher revenue, and an easier time finding clients. Combining highly automated business processes with high-demand local businesses reduces the time to recoup costs.

Search Engine Optimization

Every business today needs to take search engine optimization into account. We have to include certain businesses in some blogs (including this one!) because readers (like you!) expect to see them.

Dog Wizard is the only franchise in this blog that our primary SEO tool, SurferSEO, expected us to include. All others were chosen because of our research or personal experience with how the business owner operates their franchising company.

Which franchise under $100K is most appealing to you?

Everyone considers franchise opportunities differently. Some people care most about the initial investment, while others are most concerned with ongoing support. That’s why it is important to do your own research before making the minimum investment in any of the best franchises under $100K.

Which franchise under $100K is most appealing to you? Let us know in the comments.

How to Start a $133K/Month Lawn Care Business

Step 1. What to Know Before Starting a Lawn Mowing Business

Step 2. what type of lawn care business is right for you, step 3. write a lawn care business plan, step 4. consider lawn care names, step 5. how to start a lawn care business legally, step 6. set up your lawn care business finances, step 7. establish safety protocols for lawn care services, step 8. get equipment and software, step 9. develop a sales and marketing strategy, step 10. hire employees, step 11. a successful lawn care business documents processes.

Learn About The Lawn Care Industry

Is there money in lawn care business.

How Much Do Lawn Mowers Make?

How much does it cost to start a lawn care business, skills for a lawn care business .

Lawn Care Education

• Landscape Management
• AmericanHort
• Lawn & Landscape
• National Association of Landscape Professionals

Not-So-Technical Skills

• Being personable
• Learning customers’ names
• Sharing lawn care tricks with customers

• Landscape care and maintenance
• Lawn mowing
• Tree trimming
• Weed pulling
• Arborist services
• Fertilizing lawns
• Landscape installation
• Planting trees and shrubs
• Spraying lawns
• Landscape design
• Turf installation

• Lawn care insurance
• Competitive analysis of lawn care companies in your area
• Lawn care equipment
• Financial projections
• Your serviceable location
• Lawn care business licenses and permits
• Marketing plan
• Strategies to make money

Perform Market Research

• Homeowners and commercial clients (Mike sticks to residential.)
• People who make over $100,000 per year
• People who live within a 5 mile radius
• Include  “lawn care”: You want people to know what you do. Augusta Lawn Care has it right in the name.
• Easy and clear: Potential customers may be put off by a name they struggle to spell or pronounce. Keep it simple.
• Location: Consider including your location to attract customers in your area and establish yourself within the local region.
• Branding: Mike explained how important branding is to a business name. “Augusta” is named after the golf tournament because he wants to allude to the high quality greens where the tournament occurs. He warned about being too particular about that because he used white uniforms like the golf caddies, and that was a big mistake. Check out our interview about branding below.

Make Sure The Business Name Is Available

• Limited Liability Company (or Other Business Structure)
• Business License
• Business Bank Account
• Business Insurance

Business Structure 

• S-Corporation : Best for high-earning companies that want to lower business owner taxes. Limited number of stockholders, provides personal liability protection, requires business owners to receive salary (and optional dividends), no double taxation.
• C-Corporation : Best for companies trying to change the world. Unlimited stockholders, provides personal liability protection, high compliance costs, and double taxation. Business owners can earn money through multiple income streams with different tax codes.
• Limited Liability Company (LLC) : Best for companies that want to separate business entities from personal assets. A Limited Liability Company provides limited liability, pass-through income, and no double taxation.
• Sole Proprietorship : Best to just get started. Doesn’t provide liability protection or create a separate business entity, and is considered personal income. Don’t use a sole proprietorship if you hire employees.

Get a Lawn Care Business License

Open a business bank account, lawn care professionals need business insurance.

• General liability insurance
• Property damage insurance
• Workers compensation insurance
• Cyber Security Insurance (since you have people’s credit cards, names, and addresses)
• Credit cards
• Angel investors
• Crowdfunding
• Business partner(s)
• Grants for starting a lawn care business (Yes, there are some !)
• Home equity loan
• Friends or family
• Personal finance through savings or wages
• Rollover for business startups ( ROBS )

Lawn Care Pricing Chart 2023

• Lawn mowing prices per hour : $25-$65
• Lawn mowing prices per square foot : $.01-$.05

Necessary Equipment 

• Work Vehicle: Mike recommends buying used trucks because lawn care business owners can lose a lot of money on lawn care company vehicles if they buy new. We’ll show you why in the costs section below.
• Small Lawn Care Trailer Setup : Make sure you have a truck or trailer large enough to carry all your equipment. Mike uses Ramprack .
• Lawn Mower : You can choose either a riding lawn mower or a push mower. A riding mower is easier to operate, but a push lawn mower is less expensive. Mike uses Greenworks .
• Blower : You’ll need something for blowing leaves.
• Trash bags : To collect the debris from your push mower.
• Trimming equipment : You’ll need trimmers if you trim bushes.
• Weed eater : Weed eaters and edgers are helpful for those hard to cut areas around fences and curbs.
• Specialty Equipment : Depending on the services you offer, you might need other equipment. As a seasonal business, you might supplement your income by performing jobs like snow removal or Christmas light hanging that require other tools.

Software for Starting a Lawn Care Business

• Service Autopilot : This is customer relationship management (CRM) software specifically for lawn care businesses.
• Clearent : You’ll need a payment processor, and since Clearent is built by the same company as Service Autopilot, they’ll work together seamlessly.
• Quickbooks: You’ll want accounting software. Most business owners go with Quickbooks because almost every software company integrates with them.  
• Labor : Notice in the example above, the business owner is giving themselves a nearly $73K salary and not leaving any money for the business.
• Purchases : Looks like the business owner in the high model was spending on some extravagant tools, while the low cost model was managing business expenses.
• Other Costs : The other costs could include taxes, interest payments, and more. That’s why many business owners discourage loans.
• Create a Lawn Care Business Website

Use Social Media

• Create Lawn Care Business Ads
• Sign Up With Registries for Local Businesses
• Create a Lawn Mowing Business Card
• Print Lawn Mowing Door Hangers and Mailers
• Ask for Reviews and Referrals

Create a Lawn Care Website

Use Paid Ads

Register with local business directories.

• Google Business Profile

Get Lawn Mower Business Cards

Print door hangers and mailers, get reviews to feed the crews.

• Decide what process to map.
• Document who performs each task.
• List all steps.
• Identify where you can save time.
• Determine the triggers, inputs, and outputs.
• Create the main path, then map out alternative flows.
• Implement the process.

Are You Ready to Start Your Own Lawn Care Business?

• How to start lawn care business operations
• How much does lawn care cost?
• Do I need a business license for lawn care?

59 Business Ideas for Couples (2024)

Have you ever considered starting a business with your spouse? If so, check out these fantastic business ideas tailor-made for couples!

The concept of husband and wife business ideas has been around for a long time, and the prospect of building your dream life together is undoubtedly appealing. Let's explore some great business ideas for couples!

[su_note note_color="#dbeafc"]Click a link below to skip to the idea that interests you (and your partner!) most.

Tips for Getting Started With a Business Idea for Couples

Strategies for couples to start a successful business, best online businesses for couples, part-time business ideas for couples, two-person team start-ups: profitable business ideas for couples, small businesses for couples to start.

• Which Business for Couples Will You Choose? [/su_note]

There are numerous considerations when couples decide to start a small business together. You’ll want to:

• Consider the initial time and financial investment required.
• Identify activities that you both enjoy doing consistently.
• Decide if you want immediate returns or are willing to invest in a more passive venture.
• Combine your skills as a couple to find synergies in the business.
• Follow your shared passions and interests.
• Determine your preference for a location-based or online business.

You’ll also want to find ways to make sure that both partners feel fulfilled by the business. That means you should:

• Ensure the business idea suits both partners' needs and interests.
• Practice effective communication and maintain a balance between work and personal life.
• Consider the roles you can play within the business to complement each other.

1. Blogging: Start a blog and monetize it over time

• Average Annual Revenue: $46K • Average Profit Margins: 14.6% • Startup Costs: Under $100-$200 • Time To Revenue: 1 month to 3 Years • Annual Market Growth Rate: -1.50% • Best for: Couples with writing, graphic design, and other content creation skills, strong marketers

A blog can be a great business venture on its own or in combination with other business ideas like a podcast, vlog, or online education business. It’s easy to get started but can take a while to build an audience and generate regular and recurring income.

One of you can write, while the other does design, or work together on everything.

Kevin Espiritu used a blog to turn his passion for gardening into a $7.3 million-a-year business. Hear his story in this podcast interview:

2. Sell Stock Photos: Create and sell unique stock photography

• Average Annual Revenue: $50K • Average Profit Margins: 7.3% • Startup Costs: $1K-$10K • Time To Revenue: 1-6 months • Annual Market Growth Rate: 0.3% • Best for: Photographers, visual artists, people who want flexibility and passive income

A photography business can be a highly profitable business, and it is among the best couple business ideas to run from the side at home. There are tons of sites to sell stock photographs, including:

• iStock Photos by Getty Images
• Shutterstock

3. Freelance Writing: Offer content writing services

• Average Annual Revenue: $46K • Average Profit Margins: 14.6% • Startup Costs: $100-$200 • Time To Revenue: 1 month to 3 Years • Annual Market Growth Rate: -1.50% • Best for: Writers, editors, SEO and digital marketing experts

Writing content is a great business idea for couples who want to start their own business quickly out of their home . Just set up a profile on a freelance platform like Upwork or Fiverr and you can begin accepting clients in minutes.

4 . Cleaning Service: Offer residential or commercial cleaning

• Average Annual Revenue: $61K+ • Average Profit Margins: 10.8% • Startup Cost: $300-$5K • Time To Revenue: 3+ months • Annual Market Growth Rate: 2.4% • Best for: Detail-oriented people with strong customer service skills, people who like physical work and don’t mind getting their hands dirty

The low investment to start a cleaning business is one thing that draws people to this niche. Demand is also strong and growing, at a rate of 6.6% each year for the last decade.

Chris Mondragon grew Queen Bee Cleaning Services to $120,000 a month in revenue from an initial investment of just $5,000. He teaches how to follow his model in his 7-Figure Cleaning Business Blueprint . You can also watch this interview with Chris to hear how he started:

[su_youtube url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d4Iip7BHXwg"]

You can even start a remote cleaning business .

5. Printables: Design and sell customizable printed products

• Average Annual Revenue: $1.6M • Average Profit Margins: 4.3% • Startup Cost: $500-$250K • Time To Revenue: 3+ months • Annual Market Growth Rate: -5.6% • Best for: Graphic designers and visual artists, marketing experts

An online store selling custom-printed items is among the best business ideas for creative entrepreneurs who want a passive income stream.

People buy customizable printables for a lot of reasons, from marketing swag and business gifts to favors for weddings and parties. All of those niches mean lots of potential customers for your eCommerce business.

[su_youtube url="https://youtu.be/BmYCYMAsQ8Y"]

6. Web Design: Create and manage websites for clients

• Average Annual Revenue: $239K+ • Average Profit Margins: 5.3% • Startup Cost: $100-$1K • Time To Revenue: 1-3 months • Annual Market Growth Rate: 1.4% • Best for: Web developers, programmers, graphic designers, SEO experts

Every business needs a website but not all business owners can make one. If graphic design, visual layout, or coding are among your or your partner’s interests, website design is a good business idea with a low investment up-front and a lot of growth potential.

7. Virtual Assistant: Provide a wide range of online assistance

• Average Annual Revenue: $35K-$50K • Average Profit Margins: 10.5% • Startup Costs: $100-$200 • Time To Revenue: 1-3 months • Annual Market Growth Rate: 1.9% • Best for: Highly-organized people, excellent communicators with strong time management and problem-solving skills

Virtual assistants (VA) help busy professionals take care of day-to-day tasks, like scheduling appointments, booking travel, and similar administrative things.

Being a VA is a great online business idea because it has a low investment to start and doesn’t require any special skills. The hours are usually flexible, too, making it ideal for parents looking for business opportunities they can fit around other commitments.

8. Ads: Offer ad writing and design services for various platforms

• Average Annual Revenue: $817K • Average Profit Margins: 6.9% • Startup Costs: $1.8K-$16K • Time To Revenue: 1-6 months • Annual Market Growth Rate: 1.3% • Best for: Marketing experts, writers, visual artists, graphic designers, people skilled in SEO, SEM, and other digital marketing techniques

Similar to web design, creating compelling advertisements requires a unique set of skills that not all business owners have. This makes it a profitable business idea with a lot of growth potential, especially for a two-person team.

9. Vending Machine Owners: Establish or buy vending machine routes

• Average Annual Revenue: $182K+ • Average Profit Margins: 4.3% • Startup Cost: $2K-$10K • Time To Revenue: 3+ months • Annual Market Growth Rate: 0.5% • Best for: People who want flexibility and passive income potential, system-driven entrepreneurs

Do you ever wonder who makes money from the vending machines in workplaces, schools, and other businesses? It could be you if you start a vending business!

Vending has a high profit potential without needing a huge time investment. UpFlip’s Vending Bootcamp teaches you how to get started step-by-step. You can also watch this interview with Hill Vending founder Adam Hill to learn how he got started:

[su_youtube url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-s_Y-O1nosw"]

10. Online Educational Resources: Create and sell online courses together

• Average Annual Revenue: $234K+ • Average Profit Margins: 5.8% • Startup Cost: $100-$1K • Time To Revenue: 1-3 months • Annual Market Growth Rate: 1.1% • Best for: Teachers and educators, people with in-demand skills and knowledge, writers and content creators

Selling online courses lets you make a living sharing your knowledge. Creating the course takes the most work. Once you’ve made online educational resources, you can run a profitable business with little time investment.

It’s also a cheap business to start. Jacques Hopkins started his online course business with a $ 150-a-month budget, and he’s grown it to more than $40,000 a month in revenue. Hear his advice in this interview:

11. Tutoring: Offer virtual tutoring sessions in various subjects

• Average Annual Revenue: $18K+ • Average Profit Margins: 13.10% • Startup Cost: $100-$1K • Time To Revenue: 1-3 months • Annual Market Growth Rate: 8.5% • Best for: Teachers and educators, excellent communicators and motivators, experts in academic subjects or test prep

Speaking of an online education business, tutoring is another of the best business ideas for couples who are educators. You can run a completely online business with virtual tutoring sessions or set up an online portal to connect with in-person students.

There are a number of tutoring platforms where you can begin accepting clients to get your business up and running. Some of the most popular include:

• Strive Academics

12. Stock Market: Manage other people’s investments

• Average Annual Revenue: $1.8M+ • Average Profit Margins: 36.1% • Startup Cost: $500-$5K • Time To Revenue: 1-3 months • Annual Market Growth Rate: 8.2% • Best for: financial advisors and money experts, investors and stock traders

For business partners with a background in finance, investment management is a highly profitable business idea. The people who have investments to manage tend to be high-earners, so you can easily build a client list of people willing to pay top dollar.

Bear in mind that investment advisors need to be registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and may also need to register with their state in order to operate legally. The SEC explains how to register on its website.

13. Consultancy business: Provide expert advice and recommendations

• Average Annual Revenue: $364K • Average Profit Margins: 6.4% • Startup Costs: $1K-$3.5M • Time To Revenue: 6-18 months • Annual Market Growth Rate: 2.2% • Best for: Creative problem solvers, excellent communicators and motivators, experts in in-demand areas like marketing, human resources, and leadership

Entrepreneurs will pay top dollar for business development advice that helps them grow revenue, become better leaders, master their digital marketing, or hone other necessary skills. A couple with that expertise can make excellent business partners for a consultancy business.

The key to success is finding the right niche market. For example, Ryan Gromfin turned his experience managing five-star restaurants into a $ 35,000-a-month restaurant consulting business. Hear his advice here:

14. Coaching: Become life, business, or mindset coaches

• Average Annual Revenue: $63K+ • Average Profit Margins: 10.5% • Startup Costs: $500-$5K • Time To Revenue: 1-3 months • Annual Market Growth Rate: 1.5% • Best for: Empathetic entrepreneurs, active listeners and great communicators, people with strong organization, time management, and creative problem-solving skills

Coaching can be a very profitable business to start with a business partner because you can accelerate your growth and build your client list twice as fast. You can be a coach in any area where you’re an expert, from personal organization to parenting to being a landscape and gardening consultant.

15. Digital Marketing: Offer online marketing services

• Average Annual Revenue: $817K • Average Profit Margins: 6.9% • Startup Costs: $100-$10K • Time To Revenue: 1-6 months • Annual Market Growth Rate: 1.3% • Best for: social media experts, designers and content creators, data analysts, people with SEM, SEO, and similar digital marketing skills

A digital marketing agency is one of the top business ideas for couples who want high-profit potential as well as schedule flexibility. Most businesses today need an online presence, and that puts digital marketing skills in high demand.

The digital marketing firm Socialistics has grown to $500,000 a year in revenue by attracting big-name clients like the Air Force and Habitat for Humanity. Find out how they got started in this interview:

[su_youtube url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kb1czTEK8f8"]

16. E-books: Write and sell e-books

• Average Annual Revenue: $712K • Average Profit Margins: 14.6% • Startup Costs: $100-$200 • Time To Revenue: 1 month to 3 years • Annual Market Growth Rate: -1.5% • Best for: Writers and editors, strong online marketers, couples seeking a passive income stream

Selling e-books is a very flexible business. You create the books on your own schedule then list them in an online store, which you can manage any time and from anywhere.

The tricky part about starting an e-book business is that there are a lot of them out there, so you’ll need strategies to get customer attention in a crowded market. It can help to focus on a niche market, or if you have other ways to build an audience, like through a podcast , YouTube channel, or large social media following.

17. T-Shirt Business: Design and sell custom t-shirts online

• Average Annual Revenue: $147K • Average Profit Margins: 3.2% • Startup Costs: $1K-$200K • Time To Revenue: 30-90 days • Annual Market Growth Rate: 3.3% • Best for: Artists and graphic designers, strong marketers and networkers

One particularly popular custom printables niche is a print-on-demand t-shirt business. This is among the best business ideas for couples who are creative and need flexibility.

Artem Ionitsa makes $2,000,000 a year with his Logo Unlimited that prints clothing for major businesses . Find out how he started and grew his business in this interview:

[su_youtube url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CJRWc1ZPCpQ"]

18. eCommerce: Sell products through a website

• Average Annual Revenue: $60K-$120K • Average Profit Margins: 5-15% • Startup Costs: $100-$1K • Time To Revenue: 30-90 days • Annual Market Growth Rate: -9.3% • Best for: Makers, designers, and crafters, artists and creators, fashion and shopping lovers

You can sell just about anything with an eCommerce business. Vlad Kuksenko started TagPup with a low investment of just $500 and in two years made more than $1 million in sales. Hear how he became the #1 pet products store on Etsy in this interview:

[su_youtube url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7dqHBHA4AmU"]

19. Website Flipping: Buy, enhance, and sell websites

• Average Annual Revenue: $239K • Average Profit Margins: 5.30% • Startup Costs: $100-$1K • Time To Revenue: 1-3 months • Annual Market Growth Rate: 1.40% • Best for: Web designers and developers, experts in SEO, web traffic, data analysis, or automation

Domain flipping is like a digital version of a real estate business. You purchase a website at a low price, then improve its design, functionality, and search rankings to increase its value and sell it for a profit.

After starting OneHourProfessor.com in 2014, Ron Stefanski has built a portfolio of websites that bring in $30,000 a month in revenue on average. Hear his advice on how to start a website business in this interview:

20. Podcasting: Create and monetize a podcast

• Average Annual Revenue: $4M+ • Average Profit Margins: 27.1% • Startup Costs: $500-$5K • Time To Revenue: 1-3 months • Annual Market Growth Rate: 6.4% • Best for: Entertainers, skilled communicators, teachers, presenters, and content creators

Podcasting was an $18.5 billion industry in 2022, and it’s expected to grow another 27.6% by 2030. Like a blog, podcasting can be a successful business idea on its own or in tandem with other online educational resources.

Building an audience is the most challenging part of starting a podcast. Listen to this interview to learn how Entrepreneurs on Fire became one of the top business podcasts with more than 142 million listeners:

21. Junk Removal: Help clear out people’s homes and offices

• Average Annual Revenue: $5.7M+ • Average Profit Margins: 2.9% • Startup Costs: $100K-$3.5M • Time To Revenue: 6-18 months • Annual Market Growth Rate: 1.9% • Best for: Construction pros, couples who like physical work

Many people don’t know how to dispose of large junk like appliances and construction trash—and they don’t want to deal with it even if they do. That’s what makes junk removal a $10 billion-a-year industry and a profitable, unique business idea for couples.

22. Dog Walking: Provide pet walking services

• Average Annual Revenue: $34K+ • Average Profit Margins: 16% • Startup Costs: $500-$5K • Time To Revenue: 3+ months • Annual Market Growth Rate: 1.7% • Best for: Pet owners, animal lovers, people with high physical stamina who like working outdoors

Nearly 20% of American households adopted a dog during the pandemic. Now that people are being called back to the office, dog walkers are in increasingly high demand.

That demand has driven up prices. In large markets like New York, dog walkers can charge $600 or more a month per client. This gives it potential to be a highly profitable business even as a part-time venture.

Starting with a partner makes it where you can walk twice as many dogs.

23. Catering: Start your own catering business for events

• Average Annual Revenue: $124K+ • Average Profit Margins: 5.5% • Startup Costs: $1K-$100K • Time To Revenue: 6-18 months • Annual Market Growth Rate: 1.0% • Best for: Cooks, bakers, and foodies with strong customer service and time management skills

One drawback to most food industry businesses is the high startup cost. Starting your own catering business is one way around this issue. You can rent a commercial kitchen when you need it instead of buying your own equipment, and that means a much lower up-front investment.

A catering company also gives you more scheduling flexibility than a restaurant. You can book events only during the times you’re available, and how much work you take on is completely in your court, too.

24. Personal Training: Offer fitness coaching services

• Average Annual Revenue: $16K+ • Average Profit Margins: 10.9% • Startup Costs: $500-$5K • Time To Revenue: 1-6 months • Annual Market Growth Rate: 0.6% • Best for: Health and fitness experts, great motivators with strong communication skills and empathy

A personal trainer helps their clients meet their fitness goals, and you don’t need your own gym to open a fitness business. You could offer sessions from your home, at clients’ homes, or partner with a local athletics and fitness association to use their facilities.

There are also affordable opportunities to become a franchise business partner as a personal trainer or fitness business. Jazzercise franchises start at $2,500, for example, and Anytime Fitness franchises have a similarly low investment.

25. Car Wash and Detailing: Provide car washing and detailing services

• Average Annual Revenue: $73K+ • Average Profit Margins: 16.1% • Startup Cost: $500-$5K • Time To Revenue: 3+ months • Annual Market Growth Rate: 1.0% • Best for: Car lovers, detail-oriented entrepreneurs who like working with their hands

More than 91% of households in the United States own a car, and about 22% own three or more. This makes businesses related to car maintenance a smart move.

A mobile business is often a better side hustle than a brick-and-mortar, with both a lower upfront cost and more schedule flexibility. Seattle Mobile Detailing was started by business partners with just $300 and now grosses $40,000 a month. Learn how they got started in this interview:

[su_youtube url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rk4L1O2b84Q"]

26. Horticulture: Grow plants for nurseries

• Average Annual Revenue: $262K+ • Average Profit Margins: 5.4% • Startup Costs: $100K-$3.5M • Time To Revenue: 6-18 months • Annual Market Growth Rate: 2.8% • Best for: Gardeners and plant experts, people who love working outside

You don’t need a huge plot of land to start a flower or herb farm. A rose, sunflower, or lavender farming business are outstanding couple business ideas for those with unused yard space and green thumbs.

27. Resume Writing: Write professional resumes and LinkedIn profiles

• Average Annual Revenue: $46K • Average Profit Margins: 5.8% • Startup Cost: $500-$5K • Time To Revenue: 1-3 months • Annual Market Growth Rate: 1.1% • Best for: Human resources professionals, writers and editors, people with recruiting or hiring experience

A well-written resume is key to a successful job search, and a strong LinkedIn profile can be just as important. It’s typical to charge $200-$400 for a mid-career resume, while executive resumes command prices of $700 or more.

That’s not bad for a one-to-two-page document and makes a very lucrative part-time business for a couple with career expertise.

28. Personal Shopping: Assist clients with personal shopping needs

• Average Annual Revenue: $37K+ • Average Profit Margins: 1.9% • Startup Cost: $100-$1K • Time To Revenue: 3+ months • Annual Market Growth Rate: 10.5% • Best for: Strong communicators, people who are patient, organized, and empathetic with a sharp eye for detail and good decision-making skills

As a personal shopper, you get clients the things they need—even when they’re not quite sure what those are. The guidance personal shoppers give is what differentiates them from a virtual assistant or delivery service and makes it a more profitable business.

29. Handyperson: Offer general handyman services

• Average Annual Revenue: $204K+ • Average Profit Margins: 5.4% • Startup Costs: $500-$5K • Time To Revenue: 3+ months • Annual Market Growth Rate: 0.7% • Best for: Contractors and skilled trade workers, people who like working with their hands and have good communication and customer service skills

Every homeowner needs repairs now and then, and they don’t always have the time or skills to make them. This is a great business idea for a two-person team because you can do more work faster, making for happy customers and higher profits.

It doesn’t take much to start a handyperson business. Find out how Caleb Ingraham started his $ 25,000-a-month business in this interview:

[su_youtube url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=leUta_q_MPQ"]

30. Interior Painting and Wallpapering: Provide interior painting and wallpapering services

• Average Annual Revenue: $76K+ • Average Profit Margins: 7.2% • Startup Costs: $1K-$100K • Time To Revenue: 6-18 months • Annual Market Growth Rate: -2% • Best for: Construction and home repair professionals, painters and designers, people who like physical work, detail-oriented and process-driven entrepreneurs

Painting and wallpapering are among the best business ideas for couples who want to stay active and make money together. The mess and labor involved in painting houses is why many customers pay for a service.

It takes a surprisingly low investment to start a house painting business. Joshua Douglass only invested about $6,000 to start A Painter’s Touch, and today it makes around $25,000 a month. Hear his story in this interview:

31. Party Planner: Plan and coordinate events for clients

• Average Annual Revenue: $34K+ • Average Profit Margins: 12.2% • Startup Costs: $500-$5K • Time To Revenue: 3+ months • Annual Market Growth Rate: 1% • Best for: Organized and outgoing people with strong creative problem-solving, time management, and customer service skills

A wedding planning business is the best-known niche in event planning, but that’s far from the only option. From family reunions and celebrations to corporate events, there are a lot of ways to profit from your party planning skills.

32. Paint Wall Murals: Create artistic murals for customers

• Average Annual Revenue: $76K+ • Average Profit Margins: 7.20% • Startup Costs: $1K-$100K • Time To Revenue: 6-18 months • Annual Market Growth Rate: -2.00% • Best for: Painters and visual artists, designers, creative people who like physical work

An eye-catching mural can be a great draw for customers to a business, or bring a unique touch to a home. Mural artists typically charge $10-$20 per square foot, which can put this among the most profitable business ideas for a creative side hustle.

With the right equipment, you don’t need to be an artist to make money from murals. Paul Baron started a business in vertical printing with The Wall Printer. Find out more in his podcast interview.

33. Pinterest Account Manager: Manage Pinterest accounts for businesses

• Average Annual Revenue: $42K to $208K • Average Profit Margins: 6.9% • Startup Costs: $1.8K-$16K • Time To Revenue: 1-6 months • Annual Market Growth Rate: 1.3% • Best for: Social media experts, photographers and graphic designers, organized and creative entrepreneurs

Pinterest is a popular platform for anyone running a food business, clothing shop, or cosmetic line as well as others who have visually compelling products to sell. The average Pinterest Virtual Assistant makes about $500 a month per client or up to $100 per hour, but you can certainly make more than that as a skilled Pinterest manager.

One of you can find clients while the other one manages the Pinterest accounts.

34. Subscription Box Service: Curate niche subscription boxes

• Average Annual Revenue: $60K to $120K • Average Profit Margins: 5-15% • Startup Costs: $100-$10K • Time To Revenue: 30-90 days • Annual Market Growth Rate: 16.5% • Best for: Data experts, people tuned in to trends, strong marketers and salespeople, people with specialized product niche expertise

A subscription business is a fantastic business model because you earn regular and recurring income by default.

Any type of consumable product can be part of a subscription box, from healthy snacks to on-trend clothes, shoes, or makeup. Whatever your or your partner’s interests, you can start a successful business curating monthly goodie boxes for other fans of that niche.

35. Local Guides: Offer guided tours and experiences in your area

• Average Annual Revenue: $995K+ • Average Profit Margins: 6.6% • Startup Cost: $500-$5K • Time To Revenue: 1-3 months • Annual Market Growth Rate: 3.5% • Best for: Friendly, outgoing couples with excellent communication skills, actors and performers, people with niche knowledge about their local area

This is a fantastic business idea for couples who are active in their local community or have unique expertise in the history, culture, wildlife, or other aspects of their region.

You could give general tours or niche down. If you’re plugged into the local food scene, for instance, you can market to tourists and food lovers who flock to food truck tours and brewery crawls.

36. Adventure Tourism: Get people out and exploring

• Average Annual Revenue: $995K+ • Average Profit Margins: 6.6% • Startup Cost: $500-$5K • Time To Revenue: 1-3 months • Annual Market Growth Rate: 3.5% • Best for: Adventurous and outgoing entrepreneurs with strong marketing and communication skills

People love experiencing new things, and you can offer that as business partners in the adventure tourism niche.

Jonathan Newar started Captain Experiences in 2020 to do just that and has already grown the business to $100,000 a month in revenue. Hear his story in this interview:

37. Eco-Friendly and Chemical-Free Makeup and Beauty Products: Produce natural cosmetics and self-care products

• Average Annual Revenue: $11.5M+ • Average Profit Margins: 5.7% • Startup Costs: $500-$250K • Time To Revenue: 3+ months • Annual Market Growth Rate: 1.2% • Best for: Makeup artists, stylists, and other fashion and beauty experts with strong sales and creative problem-solving skills

Cosmetics is the third-largest segment of the U.S. beauty industry, projected to bring in $20.13 billion in revenue in 2024. Natural and chemical-free products are a growing niche within this sector and can be very profitable as either a brick-and-mortar store or eCommerce business.

38. Meal Prep Business: Prepare and deliver healthy meals

• Average Annual Revenue: $41K+ • Average Profit Margins: 6.4% • Startup Cost: $1K-$100K • Time To Revenue: 3+ months • Annual Market Growth Rate: 1.2% • Best for: Cooks, chefs, and other restaurant industry pros with strong time management and organization skills

Meal delivery services spiked in popularity during the pandemic and that trend shows no signs of reversing. You can offer meal delivery services as a subscription business for recurring revenue, too, or home in on a niche like office food delivery.

39. Food or Grocery Delivery Business: Deliver prepared food or groceries

• Average Annual Revenue: $31K • Average Profit Margins: 3.6% • Startup Cost: $100-$9.5K • Time To Revenue: 3+ months • Annual Market Growth Rate: 6.7% • Best for: Organized and system-focused entrepreneurs with strong sales, marketing, and customer service skills

If you like the idea of a meal delivery service business but aren’t much of a cook, you can start your own business delivering groceries or food from other restaurants. While these services are in demand, you will be competing with heavy hitters like Uber Eats and DoorDash, which is the main challenge of getting started.

Adam Haber started Trellus Local Delivery to help small businesses. While Trellus delivers more than just food, you can follow a similar model for meal delivery services. Hear his story in this interview:

40. Interior Design for Small Businesses: Provide interior design for office or retail spaces

• Average Annual Revenue: $168K+ • Average Profit Margins: 10.6% • Startup Costs: $1K-$100K • Time To Revenue: 1-3 months • Annual Market Growth Rate: 1.2% • Best for: Designers and artists who are excellent communicators, networkers, and salespeople

If you’re looking for business ideas for couples with a low investment, service-based niches like a design business can be a perfect fit.

Building a client base is often the hardest part of getting started. One option is to provide free services in exchange for referrals or reviews and to establish portfolio of past work to show potential customers.

41. Organizing Business: Help clients declutter and organize their spaces

• Average Annual Revenue: $168K+ • Average Profit Margins: 10.6% • Startup Cost: $1K-$100K • Time To Revenue: 1-3 months • Annual Market Growth Rate: 1.2% • Best for: Organized, system-driven, and empathetic entrepreneurs who are good communicators and motivators

Another low-investment service business, professional organizing services work with clients to bring order to the chaos of life. This can range from decluttering a home to helping busy professionals organize their workspaces, and it’s among the top business ideas for couples who thrive on systems and order.

42. Travel Photography: Sell beautiful photos of your favorite places

• Average Annual Revenue: $44K • Average Profit Margins: 7.30% • Startup Cost: $5K-$15K • Time To Revenue: 3+ months • Annual Market Growth Rate: 0.3% • Best for: Artists, photographers, and creative couples

A photography business in the travel niche lets you take your business on the road wherever you want to go. You can sell your images as prints in an online store, sell them as stock photos, or work with clients like news sources and travel guides.

43. Translator: Leverage your bilingual- or multilingualism

• Average Annual Revenue: $75K-$200K • Average Profit Margins: 12.4% • Startup Cost: $100-$200 • Time To Revenue: 1-3 months • Annual Market Growth Rate: 1.2% • Best for: People who speak multiple languages, excellent communicators with strong problem-solving skills

While AI-driven translation apps are functional for travelers, there is still a high need for professional translators in the global economy. The most in-demand languages include Spanish, German, Russian, and Mandarin (and bonus points if you speak three or more).

44. Handmade Jewelry, Candles, or Soap: Craft and sell handmade products

• Average Annual Revenue: $60K-$120K • Average Profit Margins: 5-15% • Startup Costs: $100-$10K • Time To Revenue: 30-90 days • Annual Market Growth Rate: -9.3% • Best for: Artisans, crafters, and artists with strong sales, marketing, and customer service skills

There are lots of ways to start a handcrafted soap, artisanal candle, or handmade jewelry business. While it’s fastest to start as an eCommerce business, you can supplement those sales with a festival or farmers market stall, or even get your own storefront as the business grows.

Check out this interview with Blk Sunflower to learn how Jazmin Richards made $300,000 in 18 months selling handmade candles:

[su_youtube url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UzZ5aTbiLh0"]

45. Coffee Shop or Coffee Industry Business

• Average Annual Revenue: $865K+ (Starbucks makes this number sky high) • Average Profit Margins: 5.8% • Startup Costs: $1K-$100K • Time To Revenue: 3+ months • Annual Market Growth Rate: 1.2% • Best for: Baristas and coffee experts who excel at customer service

A coffee shop provides more than a caffeine fix. It’s also a gathering place for the community, making it a great business idea for couples who love meeting and talking to new people (and, of course, love coffee).

Starting a coffee shop can require a big startup investment. One way to get into the coffee industry for a lower price is with a coffee stand. You can expand that into a sit-down coffee shop as the business grows. Learn how Sandy Edin started a $24,000-a-month coffee stand in this interview:

[su_youtube url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HvQt2wbj7DE"]

46. Childcare

• Average Annual Revenue: $143K+ • Average Profit Margins: 0.9% • Startup Costs: $0-$1K • Time To Revenue: 1-3 months • Annual Market Growth Rate: 51.7% • Best for: Parents, babysitters, people who love kids and are outgoing, patient, and good multi-taskers

A childcare business is among the best business ideas for couples who are parents themselves. You already have the skills to take care of kids—and this is one way to make a profit from them!

That’s what led Kristy Bickmeyer to start Twinkle Toes Nanny Agency, and she’s now grown it to 20 locations across five states. Hear how she got started here:

47. Bakery or Cake Shop

• Average Annual Revenue: $1.95M • Average Profit Margins: 5.4% • Startup Costs: $100-$3M • Time To Revenue: 1-6 months • Annual Market Growth Rate: 1.1% • Best for: Cooks, chefs, bakers, or foodies with customer service, leadership, and marketing skills

Bakeries are among the most popular types of food retail business—who doesn’t love tasty cookies, cakes, and pastries?

While bakeries often have a high startup cost, they don’t have to. One option is to start as a bakery catering business, then expand into a storefront as the business grows. That’s how Mignon Francois turned $5 into a $10 million cupcake business. Hear her story in this interview:

[su_youtube url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jmviDvmh5js"]

48. Boat, Bike, or Car Rentals

• Average Annual Revenue: $285K+ • Average Profit Margins: 6.8% • Startup Costs: $100K-$3.5M • Time To Revenue: 6-18 months • Annual Market Growth Rate: 2.0% • Best for: Mechanics and vehicle repair pros with excellent sales, marketing, and customer service skills

Vehicle rental services are fantastic couples business ideas for people with a passion for cars, boats, or bikes. While it helps to have some repair or maintenance skills, all you really need to get started is an inventory of vehicles and a way to connect with customers.

Legends Car Rentals makes $175,000 a month, so you can definitely make a lot of profit in this niche. Hear how they started in this interview:

[su_youtube url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W_01eckETe0"]

49. Doggy Daycare

• Average Annual Revenue: $73K+ • Average Profit Margins: 11.5% • Startup Costs: $1K-$100K • Time To Revenue: 3+ months • Annual Market Growth Rate: 1.1% • Best for: Animal lovers and owners, patient and personable entrepreneurs with strong customer service skills

Busy professionals and families sometimes need a hand watching their pets. You can solve that problem by opening a kennel or doggy daycare. If you love the idea of spending your days caring for dogs, this could be the perfect business for you!

50. Food Truck

• Average Annual Revenue: $41K+ • Average Profit Margins: 6.4% • Startup Cost: $1K-$100K • Time To Revenue: 3+ months • Annual Market Growth Rate: 1.2 • Best for: Cooks and food industry professionals who are excellent at marketing and customer service

It takes a lot to keep an entire restaurant afloat. The comparatively low investment and greater schedule flexibility are why food trucks are a popular alternative.

The food truck industry is crowded in some markets, which can make it challenging to attract customers. Learn how Aybla Grill started and grew their food truck business in this interview:

[su_youtube url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qi_RBWualJ8"]

51. Bookkeeping and Accounting

• Average Annual Revenue: $206K+ • Average Profit Margins: 13.9% • Startup Costs: $500-$5K • Time To Revenue: 1-3 months • Annual Market Growth Rate: 1.6% • Best for: Accounting, math, and business professionals, detail-oriented entrepreneurs

While you need to be licensed to operate as a CPA, you don’t need that credential to start a bookkeeping service. For math and accounting pros, this is a solid business idea with a low investment to start. That said, this is another area you may need to provide free services to build a reputation and client trust.

52. Rental or Airbnb Property Management

• Average Annual Revenue: $372K+ • Average Profit Margins: 10.1% • Startup Cost: $100K-$3.5M • Time To Revenue: 6-18 months • Annual Market Growth Rate: 1.3% • Best for: Real estate and construction professionals who are organized and strong customer service skills

A property management business is among the best low-investment business opportunities in real estate.

One niche market with especially high demand is Airbnb management. NICASA makes $3 million a year as an Airbnb business, and a lot of that comes from managing other people’s properties. Hear founders Sid and Eva’s advice and story in this interview:

[su_youtube url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6m-MosXlpOE"]

53. Consignment Shop

• Average Annual Revenue: $60K-$120K • Average Profit Margins: 5-15% • Startup Costs: $100-$10K • Time To Revenue: 30-90 days • Annual Market Growth Rate: -9.3% • Best for: Fashion and style experts who are excellent negotiators and communicators

Starting a consignment shop lets you open a retail business without worrying about providing your own inventory. Instead, you earn a commission selling other people’s products, saving you lots of hassle, cost, and risk.

Clothing and art are among the most popular niches for consignment, but you can start this kind of business with any type of products.

54. Boutique Retail Business

• Average Annual Revenue: $114K+ • Average Profit Margins: 10.3% • Startup Costs: $500-$250K • Time To Revenue: 3+ months • Annual Market Growth Rate: 2.0% • Best for: Designers, artists, and fashion experts with strong marketing and customer service skills

If you’d rather make and sell your own clothes, a boutique retail business could be your perfect fit. Learn how Urbanity grew to $102,000 in monthly revenue in this interview:

[su_youtube url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_wUc28d8KkE"]

55. IT Support

• Average Annual Revenue: $35K-$50K • Average Profit Margins: 10.5% • Startup Costs: $100-$200 • Time To Revenue: 1-3 months • Annual Market Growth Rate: 1.9% • Best for: Tech-savvy couples who are patient and have excellent communication skills

Sometimes, it’s not the device that needs to be repaired—it’s the user who needs help using it. Online businesses in IT support are especially great for business partners since it doubles how many customers you can help (and people who need IT support are likely internet users already).

56. eBay Selling Business

• Average Annual Revenue: $60K-$120K • Average Profit Margins: 5-15% • Startup Cost: $100-$10K • Time To Revenue: 30-90 days • Annual Market Growth Rate: -9.3% • Best for: Shoppers, thrifters, and antiquers who are good marketers, negotiators, and salespeople

An eCommerce business as a reseller is among the easiest online businesses to start. If you’re strapped for cash, you can even take your initial inventory from things you already own.

Mike Wilson started with about $1,000 in inventory and has grown to a revenue of $30,000 a month selling on eBay. Hear his story here:

57. Electronics Repair

• Average Annual Revenue: $560K+ • Average Profit Margins: 5.7% • Startup Costs: $500-$5K • Time To Revenue: 1-3 months • Annual Market Growth Rate: 1.4% • Best for: Tech and repair professionals with a sharp eye for details

Electronics repair is among the most profitable business ideas for couples who are tech-savvy. You can get started for cheap, too. Joe’s Electronics Repair is a seven-figure business that was started with just $45. Find out how in this interview:

[su_youtube url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rqce8NAZWYw"]

58. Flower Shop

• Average Annual Revenue: $262K+ • Average Profit Margins: 5.4% • Startup Costs: $100K-$3.5M • Time To Revenue: 6-18 months • Annual Market Growth Rate: 2.8% • Best for: Designers, artists, and creative people with a green thumb and excellent customer service

Flowers are a go-to gift for just about any situation. If you don’t want the costs of a brick-and-mortar, you can open a business stand, sell at a local farmers market, or open an online store.

Stemistry started online and grew into a brick-and-mortar—and the owner’s still a teenager! Find out how it started in this interview:

59. Auto Repair

• Average Annual Revenue: $268K+ • Average Profit Margins: 6.1% • Startup Costs: $1K-$100K • Time To Revenue: 1-3 months • Annual Market Growth Rate: -0.8% • Best for: Mechanics and repair pros, car experts who are good communicators

People rely on their cars and they’re keeping their cars longer , too. That means more demand for businesses related to car maintenance and repair.

A repair shop will need a fairly high investment. Lucky’s Auto Repair cost about $20,000 to start. Find out how they grew that investment into a lucrative business in this interview:

[su_youtube url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=chhmCdYt0iQ"]

Which Business for Couples Will You Choose?

There are plenty of small businesses to start as a couple. Consider both of your skills and interest and choose the one that works for you. Which will you start?

nice work https://binarychemist.com/

My Name is PRETTY NGOMANE. A south African female. Aspiring to do farming. And finding a home away from home for the differently abled persons in their daily needs.

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