Sample Business Plans 1-2-3
Free Sample Business Plan Templates:
View sample outlines in your particular field, which can give you a good idea of potential start-up costs,
equipment and supplies needed, operating procedures and expenses, financial projections and more. You can now
use your knowledge to complete your own business plan more efficiently.
Free Sample Business Plan (generic)
If you are going to write your own business plan, and you have never drafted one before, it can be
extremely helpful to view a sample business plan before you get started.
Not only do you get to see the format of the plan and the writing structure, but you can also see the
content that other small businesses have included in the plans. This goes one step beyond a basic template with
a lot of blank spaces. Sample plans can save you some time.
The question is, "Where do you find sample business plans?" Why would anyone post them online for free?
Good Question.
That's where Palo Alto Software comes in. They develop business plan software. In fact, they have been doing
it since the 1990's and are a well-respected leader in the field. You may have heard of them by their product
name, Business Plan Pro.
 Anyway, they
started including sample business plans on their website that you can view for free. Sure, they do it to
show how their software works and what you can do with it - but you don't have to purchase the software to
view the sample plans. There are actually over 500 different plans covering a variety of different types
of businesses and industries. This brings me to another point.
Let's say you want to start a hair salon, for example. Wouldn't it be much more useful for you to see
specific business plan examples from other salons - rather than a general standard plan? That is what's going
on here. You can search their database of free sample
business plans and find plans that are really specific - and thus more helpful.
 You can also
compare different plans to each other. It is a great way to get ideas for writing your own business plan
(and also launching your business!).
As you will be able to see from their website, they are a very user-friendly company. If you want to get
more free information, check out their articles on "How to
Avoid Common Mistakes" when writing a plan, "How Long Should Your Plan Be? and "Simple Business Plans for
Start-Ups".
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