Business plans have certainly changed throughout the years. Not too long ago, a business plan required you to spend hours doing market research and slowly plotting out your business trajectory. You would have to take data from several sources and do your own legwork. Now you don't necessarily have to do all that work to put together a business plan. In fact, many entrepreneurs entirely dispense with the idea of a business plan, while others prioritize flexibility and the ability to pivot instead of sticking to a script.
\r\nRegardless of how you intend to create your business plan, having one – or at least a rough sketch – is an essential step toward success. Business plans are a road map for how the business should grow and develop over time. A business needs to have a clear-cut direction; otherwise, it becomes impossible to make decisions that lead the company to achieve its goals.
\r\nUsing tools and resources to develop business plans gives owners an edge, since it allows them to tap into the general knowledge in the field. From the tried-and-true deep dive into the industry to simple, one-page documents that outline the essentials, business plans can take many forms. Here, 19 members from YEC share their favorite tools and strategies for drawing up those business plans, no matter the style.
\r\n\"My favorite tool for building out a business plan has nothing to do with software. It's a simple one-sheet template called Lean Canvas. Instead of getting bogged down in details and analysis paralysis, Lean Canvas offers a high-level view of the main risks the business faces, as well as areas of opportunity. It's a blueprint that can always be referred back to, to guide more granular plans.\" ‒ Matt Diggity, Diggity Marketing
\r\n\"I enjoy using Slidebean to create a deck first. They have a ton of pitch deck templates from famous startups. You can use them as inspiration for flow and storytelling. Most investors don't need a traditional comprehensive business plan, but it's still good to have one. I start with making a deck to hit the main points, and then I can create a detailed business plan using the deck as an outline.\" ‒ Christopher Seshadri, PhotoSesh
\r\n\"I'm a teamwork kind of guy, so that's why for me lately it's been Lunchclub. It's fantastic. It matches you with people fitting for you, your expertise and situation. I met amazing individuals and made plans with them. Some projects are already halfway to going live. That's what happens when passionate people interested in the same project make plans.\" ‒ Joey Bertschler, dorfnetz.li
\r\n\"My favourite is LivePlan. It's only around $20 per month and it makes it easy to forecast, budget and track the performance of a small business. It's a great starting point. You can set goals and define your key performance indicators, and it really helps to develop an overall picture of what you're trying to accomplish.\" ‒ Amine Rahal, IronMonk Solutions
\r\n\"It helps to use a mentor you trust to guide you in making a business plan you feel confident about. It doesn't need to be 100 pages long and go into detail about things that investors won't care about. A mentor with experience can help you create a plan that works for your specific business and pushes you in the right direction.\" ‒ Stephanie Wells, Formidable Forms
\r\n\"This may sound counterintuitive, but the Lean Startup approach of figuring out how to put a prototype in front of a few customers within a one-week sprint is the absolute best tool I've used to create a business plan. This gets you talking to your customers from day one, quickly validating your hypothesis (or invalidating it). Additionally, the customers will give you so many ideas!\" ‒ Cody Candee, Bounce
\r\n\"We live in an exciting age where our hard work can be much smarter. Staying free of business plans that serve to obscure productivity instead of cultivating it is key. The Scrum method can help you create a modern business plan that is simple, measurable and easily updatable. Any plan without these three elements is likely outdated and cumbersome.\" ‒ Reuben Yonatan, SaasList
\r\n\"Study other plans. The quickest way to know what works is to learn what doesn't. Gather business plans you have read and found worthwhile, and determine what aspects of the plan you saw as most valuable. From there, focus on expanding these areas of your plan. Don't worry about the length; it is the clarity and content that matters most initially.\" ‒ Matthew Podolsky, Florida Law Advisers, PA
\r\n\"The Business Model Canvas is ideal for startups, since it doesn't require that you have a history of operations in order to plan. It's designed to be continually updated as you talk to customers, learn and validate or invalidate your assumptions.” ‒ Keith Shields, Designli
\r\n\"Many industry-related websites and associations offer business plan templates. My advice would be to look at one in your market or industry, and use those templates as a foundation. They'll help you build a solid first draft while showing you where you need expert outside help. Depending on the resource, they may also have referrals to that expert help, making it even easier to get it all done.\" ‒ Thomas Griffin, OptinMonster
\r\n\"Running a SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats) analysis is crucial. It's a really good way to get a quick and smart view of the market, and if your prospective solution has a chance in the marketplace. One hour of work on a good SWOT will save you thousands of hours of pivot and regret in the future.\" ‒ Nicole Munoz, Nicole Munoz Consulting Inc.
\r\n\"Google Suite is a great option. No need to overcomplicate things. Google Docs, Slides and Sheets are great free tools for building your business plan. They all have excellent collaboration features so you can brainstorm with others while building out your business plan.\" ‒ Dave Nevogt, Hubstaff
\r\n\"Keep it simple. For example, Microsoft Word offers a dozen marketing plan templates that are perfect for creating a professional, accessible and affordable business plan. Importantly, the templates are flexible enough to accommodate even the most unique and creative business. They also encourage you to create a clear picture of what your business is, where it is now and where'd you like it to go.” ‒ Shu Saito, SpiroPure
\r\n\"With so many great business ideas out there, your presentation deck can be nearly as important as your idea itself. For about $200, entrepreneurs can get their decks professionally designed on 99designs.com to nail that first impression. I shared my favorite '99designers' with three classmates before the Wharton Business Plan Competition. Out of nearly 100 entries, they all made the top eight.\" ‒ Andrew Pietra, Qorum Inc.
\r\n\"MindMup is a great tool for mind mapping and brainstorming new ideas. I use it all the time, and have saved several ideas and business plans for future use. Even if you don't go live with your new business idea, it's still a great platform for planning your content creation and marketing efforts.\" ‒ Zac Johnson, Blogger
\r\n\"Drawing a business plan can be tiresome and requires sound business-writing skills. There are many tools out there, but choose one that makes your task a lot easier. I personally use Bizplan by Startups.com. It's a great tool that walks me through the process with some educational videos. There are, in fact, 650 videos, plus you get direct access to the experts.\" ‒ Vikas Agrawal, Infobrandz
\r\n\"I'd recommend using Y Combinator. They have a ton of fantastic resources on building your deck and the best ways to get your story told in a coherent manner.\" ‒ Josh Weiss, Reggie
\r\n\"If you're short on time but don't want to miss out on writing a business plan, consider using a tool like Enloop. You fill in some information, and it automatically generates your plan for you. You can collaborate on it with your co-founders or leadership team so you can all contribute. Enloop also gives your plan a score based on best practices, so you can improve it by editing it over time.\" ‒ Josh Kohlbach, Wholesale Suite
\r\n\"A business plan doesn't have to be 100 pages long, so I like to use a legal pad and pen to draft and complete my business plans. It's a quick and informal way to get a business model, target markets and revenue streams into a plan without spending a ton of time on useless projections and models.\" ‒ Kristin Kimberly Marquet, Marquet Media LLC
\n","docType":"article","guid":"articles_0a32d411dee1405bb0fe21cf34df4d03","lastModified":"2020-09-29T22:36:00.000Z","published":"2020-09-29T22:36:00.000Z","structuredData":null,"subtitle":"These resources can reduce the time and effort it takes to write a comprehensive plan.","template":"v1","title":"19 Essential Tools for Building a Successful Business Plan","type":"article","author":{"avatar":"https://staging.business.com/images/author/583/5effe3187b16d07195101/100-100","bio":"Scott Gerber is the founder of Young Entrepreneur Council (YEC), an invite-only organization comprised of the world’s most promising young entrepreneurs. In partnership with Citi, YEC recently launched BusinessCollective, a free virtual mentorship program that helps millions of entrepreneurs start and grow businesses.\r\n\r\nGerber is also a serial entrepreneur, regular TV commentator and author of the book Never Get a “Real” Job.","name":"Scott Gerber","image":null,"slug":null,"social":{"facebook":"https://www.facebook.com/theyec","linkedin":"","twitter":"scottgerber","website":"http://yec.co"},"status":"enabled","title":null,"type":"Old BDC Member","user":{"imagePath":"https://staging.business.com/images/uploads/user/profile/30a73f4404c3622b60c28ceb80561d3e8a5e5.jpg","profile":{"company":"","jobTitle":"","website":""}}},"breadcrumbs":null,"channels":{"primary":{"name":"Business Basics","slug":"business-basics"},"sub":{"name":"Starting a Business","slug":"starting-a-business"}},"meta":{"robots":"index, follow","description":"Learn 19 tools and strategies from fellow entrepreneurs to create a successful business plan.","title":"Tools and Strategies to Create a Strong Business Plan - business.com"},"parsedContent":{"toc":[{"id":"1-lean-canvas","title":"1. Lean Canvas"},{"id":"2-slidebean","title":"2. Slidebean"},{"id":"3-lunchclub","title":"3. Lunchclub"},{"id":"4-liveplan","title":"4. LivePlan"},{"id":"5-a-trusted-mentor","title":"5. A trusted mentor"},{"id":"6-the-lean-startup-approach","title":"6. The Lean Startup approach"},{"id":"7-the-scrum-method","title":"7. The Scrum method"},{"id":"8-other-business-plans","title":"8. Other business plans"},{"id":"9-business-model-canvas","title":"9. Business Model Canvas"},{"id":"10-industry-websites-and-associations","title":"10. Industry websites and associations"},{"id":"11-a-swot-analysis","title":"11. A SWOT analysis"},{"id":"12-google-suite","title":"12. Google Suite"},{"id":"13-microsoft-word","title":"13. Microsoft Word"},{"id":"14-99designs","title":"14. 99designs"},{"id":"15-mindmup","title":"15. MindMup"},{"id":"16-bizplan","title":"16. Bizplan"},{"id":"17-y-combinator","title":"17. Y Combinator"},{"id":"18-enloop","title":"18. Enloop"},{"id":"19-a-legal-pad-and-pen","title":"19. A legal pad and pen"}],"json":[{"component":"p","children":["Business plans have certainly changed throughout the years. Not too long ago, a business plan required you to spend hours doing market research and slowly plotting out your business trajectory. You would have to take data from several sources and do your own legwork. Now you don't necessarily have to do all that work to put together a business plan. In fact, many entrepreneurs entirely dispense with the idea of a business plan, while others prioritize flexibility and the ability to pivot instead of sticking to a script."]},{"component":"p","children":["Regardless of how you intend to create your business plan, having one – or at least a rough sketch – is an essential step toward success. Business plans are a road map for how the business should grow and develop over time. A business needs to have a clear-cut direction; otherwise, it becomes impossible to make decisions that lead the company to achieve its goals."]},{"component":"p","children":["Using tools and resources to develop business plans gives owners an edge, since it allows them to tap into the general knowledge in the field. From the tried-and-true deep dive into the industry to simple, one-page documents that outline the essentials, business plans can take many forms. Here, 19 members from",{"component":"a","props":{"href":"https://yec.co/","target":"_blank","rel":"noopener nofollow"},"children":[" YEC"]}," share their favorite tools and strategies for drawing up those business plans, no matter the style."]},{"component":"h2","props":{"id":"1-lean-canvas"},"children":["1. Lean Canvas"]},{"component":"p","children":["\"My favorite tool for building out a business plan has nothing to do with software. It's a simple one-sheet template called ",{"component":"a","props":{"href":"https://leanstack.com/lean-canvas","target":"_blank","rel":"noopener nofollow"},"children":["Lean Canvas"]},". Instead of getting bogged down in details and analysis paralysis, Lean Canvas offers a high-level view of the main risks the business faces, as well as areas of opportunity. It's a blueprint that can always be referred back to, to guide more granular plans.\" ‒",{"component":"a","props":{"href":"https://yec.co/u/23fa6883-abf0-490d-a89c-4f1df751e9b8","target":"_blank","rel":"noopener nofollow"},"children":[" Matt Diggity"]},",",{"component":"a","props":{"href":"https://diggitymarketing.com/","target":"_blank","rel":"noopener nofollow"},"children":[" Diggity Marketing"]}]},{"component":"h2","props":{"id":"2-slidebean"},"children":["2. Slidebean"]},{"component":"p","children":["\"I enjoy using",{"component":"a","props":{"href":"https://slidebean.com/","target":"_blank","rel":"noopener nofollow"},"children":[" Slidebean"]}," to create a deck first. They have a ton of pitch deck templates from famous startups. You can use them as inspiration for flow and storytelling. Most investors don't need a traditional comprehensive business plan, but it's still good to have one. I start with making a deck to hit the main points, and then I can create a detailed business plan using the deck as an outline.\" ‒",{"component":"a","props":{"href":"https://yec.co/u/9821f7d1-7079-4180-9a44-7a47668c926f","target":"_blank","rel":"noopener nofollow"},"children":[" Christopher Seshadri"]},",",{"component":"a","props":{"href":"http://www.photosesh.com/","target":"_blank","rel":"noopener nofollow"},"children":[" PhotoSesh"]}]},{"component":"h2","props":{"id":"3-lunchclub"},"children":["3. Lunchclub"]},{"component":"p","children":["\"I'm a teamwork kind of guy, so that's why for me lately it's been",{"component":"a","props":{"href":"https://lunchclub.ai/","target":"_blank","rel":"noopener nofollow"},"children":[" Lunchclub"]},". It's fantastic. It matches you with people fitting for you, your expertise and situation. I met amazing individuals and made plans with them. Some projects are already halfway to going live. That's what happens when passionate people interested in the same project make plans.\" ‒",{"component":"a","props":{"href":"https://yec.co/u/b4ae3c06-207b-4532-933c-aba278c28da5","target":"_blank","rel":"noopener nofollow"},"children":[" Joey Bertschler"]},",",{"component":"a","props":{"href":"https://dorfnetz.li/","target":"_blank","rel":"noopener nofollow"},"children":[" dorfnetz.li"]}]},{"component":"h2","props":{"id":"4-liveplan"},"children":["4. LivePlan"]},{"component":"p","children":["\"My favourite is",{"component":"a","props":{"href":"https://www.liveplan.com/","target":"_blank","rel":"noopener nofollow"},"children":[" LivePlan"]},". It's only around $20 per month and it makes it easy to forecast, budget and track the performance of a small business. It's a great starting point. You can set goals and define your key performance indicators, and it really helps to ",{"component":"a","props":{"href":"https://www.businessnewsdaily.com/liveplan-business-plan-software.html","rel":"nofollow"},"children":["develop an overall picture"]}," of what you're trying to accomplish.\" ‒",{"component":"a","props":{"href":"https://yec.co/u/eca2b7d2-cc69-4b4b-8413-c03d54d87184","target":"_blank","rel":"noopener nofollow"},"children":[" Amine Rahal"]},",",{"component":"a","props":{"href":"https://www.ironmonk.com/","target":"_blank","rel":"noopener nofollow"},"children":[" IronMonk Solutions"]}]},{"component":"h2","props":{"id":"5-a-trusted-mentor"},"children":["5. A trusted mentor"]},{"component":"p","children":["\"It helps to use a mentor you trust to guide you in making a business plan you feel confident about. It doesn't need to be 100 pages long and go into detail about things that investors won't care about. A mentor with experience can help you create a plan that works for your specific business and pushes you in the right direction.\" ‒",{"component":"a","props":{"href":"https://yec.co/u/9a0d98e2-304b-47cc-a4f1-699c2f53e97e","target":"_blank","rel":"noopener nofollow"},"children":[" Stephanie Wells"]},",",{"component":"a","props":{"href":"https://formidableforms.com/","target":"_blank","rel":"noopener nofollow"},"children":[" Formidable Forms"]}]},{"component":"h2","props":{"id":"6-the-lean-startup-approach"},"children":["6. The Lean Startup approach"]},{"component":"p","children":["\"This may sound counterintuitive, but the Lean Startup approach of figuring out how to put a prototype in front of a few customers within a one-week sprint is the absolute best tool I've used to create a business plan. This gets you talking to your customers from day one, quickly validating your hypothesis (or invalidating it). Additionally, the customers will give you so many ideas!\" ‒",{"component":"a","props":{"href":"https://yec.co/u/7a78e889-a861-4f5a-a77b-804966563c1d","target":"_blank","rel":"noopener nofollow"},"children":[" Cody Candee"]},",",{"component":"a","props":{"href":"http://usebounce.com/","target":"_blank","rel":"noopener nofollow"},"children":[" Bounce"]}]},{"component":"h2","props":{"id":"7-the-scrum-method"},"children":["7. The Scrum method"]},{"component":"p","children":["\"We live in an exciting age where our hard work can be much smarter. Staying free of business plans that serve to obscure productivity instead of cultivating it is key. The Scrum method can help you create a modern business plan that is simple, measurable and easily updatable. Any plan without these three elements is likely outdated and cumbersome.\" ‒",{"component":"a","props":{"href":"https://yec.co/u/aaf2adc5-7a40-41d3-b141-cdeb04765e1a","target":"_blank","rel":"noopener nofollow"},"children":[" Reuben Yonatan"]},",",{"component":"a","props":{"href":"https://saaslist.com/","target":"_blank","rel":"noopener nofollow"},"children":[" SaasList"]}]},{"component":"h2","props":{"id":"8-other-business-plans"},"children":["8. Other business plans"]},{"component":"p","children":["\"Study other plans. The quickest way to know what works is to learn what doesn't. Gather business plans you have read and found worthwhile, and determine what aspects of the plan you saw as most valuable. From there, focus on expanding these areas of your plan. Don't worry about the length; it is the clarity and content that matters most initially.\" ‒",{"component":"a","props":{"href":"https://yec.co/u/9ed8b285-0f01-4514-b422-d6460e2965c9","target":"_blank","rel":"noopener nofollow"},"children":[" "]},{"component":"a","props":{"href":"https://yec.co/u/2563d9d5-98a4-464e-af54-9512bb2a8263","target":"_blank","rel":"noopener nofollow"},"children":["Matthew Podolsky"]},",",{"component":"a","props":{"href":"http://www.floridalegaladvice.com/","target":"_blank","rel":"noopener nofollow"},"children":[" Florida Law Advisers, PA"]}]},{"component":"h2","props":{"id":"9-business-model-canvas"},"children":["9. Business Model Canvas"]},{"component":"p","children":["\"The Business Model Canvas is ideal for startups, since it doesn't require that you have a history of operations in order to plan. It's designed to be continually updated as you talk to customers, learn and validate or invalidate your assumptions.” ‒",{"component":"a","props":{"href":"https://yec.co/u/5a90eb6f-45a0-4d09-bf90-a38737b3eb31","target":"_blank","rel":"noopener nofollow"},"children":[" Keith Shields"]},",",{"component":"a","props":{"href":"https://designli.co/","target":"_blank","rel":"noopener nofollow"},"children":[" Designli"]}]},{"component":"h2","props":{"id":"10-industry-websites-and-associations"},"children":["10. Industry websites and associations"]},{"component":"p","children":["\"Many industry-related websites and associations offer business plan templates. My advice would be to look at one in your market or industry, and use those templates as a foundation. They'll help you build a solid first draft while showing you where you need expert outside help. Depending on the resource, they may also have referrals to that expert help, making it even easier to get it all done.\" ‒",{"component":"a","props":{"href":"https://yec.co/u/223592d7-2cae-45a6-8809-970ce84a2691","target":"_blank","rel":"noopener nofollow"},"children":[" Thomas Griffin"]},",",{"component":"a","props":{"href":"https://optinmonster.com/","target":"_blank","rel":"noopener nofollow"},"children":[" OptinMonster"]}]},{"component":"h2","props":{"id":"11-a-swot-analysis"},"children":["11. A SWOT analysis"]},{"component":"p","children":["\"Running a SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats) analysis is crucial. It's a really good way to get a quick and smart view of the market, and if your prospective solution has a chance in the marketplace. One hour of work on a good SWOT will save you thousands of hours of pivot and regret in the future.\" ‒",{"component":"a","props":{"href":"https://yec.co/u/b89b7077-9c45-4d17-8849-991449b88cd4","target":"_blank","rel":"noopener nofollow"},"children":[" Nicole Munoz"]},",",{"component":"a","props":{"href":"http://www.nicolemunoz.com/","target":"_blank","rel":"noopener nofollow"},"children":[" Nicole Munoz Consulting Inc."]}]},{"component":"h2","props":{"id":"12-google-suite"},"children":["12. Google Suite"]},{"component":"p","children":["\"Google Suite is a great option. No need to overcomplicate things. Google Docs, Slides and Sheets are great free tools for building your business plan. They all have excellent collaboration features so you can brainstorm with others while building out your business plan.\" ‒",{"component":"a","props":{"href":"https://yec.co/u/c32174ae-2087-4253-aa0d-edf29dcc1324","target":"_blank","rel":"noopener nofollow"},"children":[" Dave Nevogt"]},",",{"component":"a","props":{"href":"https://hubstaff.com/","target":"_blank","rel":"noopener nofollow"},"children":[" Hubstaff"]}]},{"component":"h2","props":{"id":"13-microsoft-word"},"children":["13. Microsoft Word"]},{"component":"p","children":["\"Keep it simple. For example, Microsoft Word offers a dozen marketing plan templates that are perfect for creating a professional, accessible and affordable business plan. Importantly, the templates are flexible enough to accommodate even the most unique and creative business. They also encourage you to create a clear picture of what your business is, where it is now and where'd you like it to go.” ‒",{"component":"a","props":{"href":"https://yec.co/u/14ffa33b-d88f-45bd-9101-4123ec7a5028","target":"_blank","rel":"noopener nofollow"},"children":[" Shu Saito"]},",",{"component":"a","props":{"href":"https://www.spiropure.com/","target":"_blank","rel":"noopener nofollow"},"children":[" SpiroPure"]}]},{"component":"h2","props":{"id":"14-99designs"},"children":["14. 99designs"]},{"component":"p","children":["\"With so many great business ideas out there, your presentation deck can be nearly as important as your idea itself. For about $200, entrepreneurs can get their decks professionally designed on",{"component":"a","props":{"href":"https://99designs.com/","target":"_blank","rel":"noopener nofollow"},"children":[" 99designs.com"]}," to nail that first impression. I shared my favorite '99designers' with three classmates before the Wharton Business Plan Competition. Out of nearly 100 entries, they all made the top eight.\" ‒",{"component":"a","props":{"href":"https://yec.co/u/2dba3d1f-c068-4c8c-901c-3d91eb547139","target":"_blank","rel":"noopener nofollow"},"children":[" Andrew Pietra"]},",",{"component":"a","props":{"href":"http://qorum.com/","target":"_blank","rel":"noopener nofollow"},"children":[" Qorum Inc."]}]},{"component":"h2","props":{"id":"15-mindmup"},"children":["15. MindMup"]},{"component":"p","children":["\"",{"component":"a","props":{"href":"https://www.mindmup.com/","target":"_blank","rel":"noopener nofollow"},"children":["MindMup"]}," is a great tool for mind mapping and brainstorming new ideas. I use it all the time, and have saved several ideas and business plans for future use. Even if you don't go live with your new business idea, it's still a great platform for planning your content creation and marketing efforts.\" ‒",{"component":"a","props":{"href":"https://yec.co/u/a821bbc0-f568-4fd5-9b58-327e866d4871","target":"_blank","rel":"noopener nofollow"},"children":[" Zac Johnson"]},",",{"component":"a","props":{"href":"http://blogging.org/","target":"_blank","rel":"noopener nofollow"},"children":[" Blogger"]}]},{"component":"h2","props":{"id":"16-bizplan"},"children":["16. Bizplan"]},{"component":"p","children":["\"Drawing a business plan can be tiresome and requires sound business-writing skills. There are many tools out there, but choose one that makes your task a lot easier. I personally use",{"component":"a","props":{"href":"https://www.bizplan.com/","target":"_blank","rel":"noopener nofollow"},"children":[" Bizplan"]}," by Startups.com. It's ",{"component":"a","props":{"href":"https://www.businessnewsdaily.com/15513-bizplan.html","rel":"nofollow"},"children":["a great tool"]}," that walks me through the process with some educational videos. There are, in fact, 650 videos, plus you get direct access to the experts.\" ‒",{"component":"a","props":{"href":"https://yec.co/u/35a3872d-ef93-495a-93cf-d5dcb82b4380","target":"_blank","rel":"noopener nofollow"},"children":[" Vikas Agrawal"]},",",{"component":"a","props":{"href":"http://www.infobrandz.com/","target":"_blank","rel":"noopener nofollow"},"children":[" Infobrandz"]}]},{"component":"h2","props":{"id":"17-y-combinator"},"children":["17. Y Combinator"]},{"component":"p","children":["\"I'd recommend using",{"component":"a","props":{"href":"https://www.ycombinator.com/","target":"_blank","rel":"noopener nofollow"},"children":[" Y Combinator"]},". They have a ton of fantastic resources on building your deck and the best ways to get your story told in a coherent manner.\" ‒",{"component":"a","props":{"href":"https://yec.co/u/0ceb47dc-7197-4209-8577-06fb9f6ca974","target":"_blank","rel":"noopener nofollow"},"children":[" Josh Weiss"]},",",{"component":"a","props":{"href":"http://www.helloreggie.com/","target":"_blank","rel":"noopener nofollow"},"children":[" Reggie"]}]},{"component":"h2","props":{"id":"18-enloop"},"children":["18. Enloop"]},{"component":"p","children":["\"If you're short on time but don't want to miss out on writing a business plan, consider using a tool like ",{"component":"a","props":{"href":"https://enloop.com/","target":"_blank","rel":"noopener nofollow"},"children":["Enloop"]},". You fill in some information, and it automatically generates your plan for you. You can collaborate on it with your co-founders or leadership team so you can all contribute. ",{"component":"a","props":{"href":"https://www.businessnewsdaily.com/enloop.html","rel":"nofollow"},"children":["Enloop"]}," also gives your plan a score based on best practices, so you can improve it by editing it over time.\" ‒",{"component":"a","props":{"href":"https://yec.co/u/98f5e443-a75c-473c-9aa5-2d3d279ce49d","target":"_blank","rel":"noopener nofollow"},"children":[" "]},{"component":"a","props":{"href":"https://yec.co/u/57852fca-80d5-4099-968a-cd2d301a8d39","target":"_blank","rel":"noopener nofollow"},"children":["Josh Kohlbach"]},",",{"component":"a","props":{"href":"https://wholesalesuiteplugin.com/","target":"_blank","rel":"noopener nofollow"},"children":[" Wholesale Suite"]}]},{"component":"h2","props":{"id":"19-a-legal-pad-and-pen"},"children":["19. A legal pad and pen"]},{"component":"p","children":["\"A business plan doesn't have to be 100 pages long, so I like to use a legal pad and pen to draft and complete my business plans. It's a quick and informal way to get a business model, target markets and revenue streams into a plan without spending a ton of time on useless projections and models.\" ‒",{"component":"a","props":{"href":"https://yec.co/u/be721ba0-4ccf-45b1-bdba-6cd933326100","target":"_blank","rel":"noopener nofollow"},"children":[" Kristin Kimberly Marquet"]},",",{"component":"a","props":{"href":"http://www.femfounder.co/","target":"_blank","rel":"noopener nofollow"},"children":[" Marquet Media LLC"]}]}]},"resource":null,"sponsorship":{"sponsorType":"no-sponsor","name":null,"thumbnail":null,"bio":null,"slug":null,"status":null,"social":{"website":null,"linkedin":null,"twitter":null,"facebook":null}},"thumbnail":{"path":"https://staging.business.com/images/content/5f7/35a467b43748e4b8b4567/1500-0-","caption":"Jirapong Manustrong / Getty Images","isBlurred":false},"bestPicks":null},"related":{"relatedArticles":[],"relatedReviews":[{"doc_type":"category","thumbnail":"https://staging.business.com/images/rz/5db752e25a215e277d8b4588/Invoicing_AndreyPopov_BDC.png","canonical":"https://staging.business.com/categories/best-collections-agency-services/","title":"The Best Collection Agency Services of 2021","dek":"We've reviewed the best collection agency services for 2021. 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