Creating a Business Plan (Company & Narrative)
To begin, log in to your gosmallbiz.com membership and go to “Applications,” then “Business Plan Software.” Click on the green “Start a Plan” button to create a new business plan. You can create as many business plans as you would like. They will be displayed in a grid below the “Start a Plan” button.
Adding Company Information
Enter in your Plan Name & Description and click on the “Add New Plan” button. Complete the fields for your Company and click on “Save & Next.”
Enter the Primary Industry Name for your business. The Industry Name entered in this field will appear whenever the plan references the industry. Click on “Save & Next.”
Select a template to build your business plan from. If you do not see a template for your specific type of business, choose one that is similar to yours. You will be able to make further customizations to fit your industry throughout the development of your plan. Next, enter your basic business information and click on “Save & Next.” You will now be directed to the Narrative section of your business plan.
Adding Narrative Information
The Narrative section is where you will write and develop your business plan using the provided wizard. The first section, the “Summary” tab, will explain how the wizard works. Click on the “Continue” button to move forward. Next, you will see the “Executive Summary” category that includes an introduction and help section. This is the first of 18 categories. Click “Continue” to move forward. You can now begin to add information to your business plan. Each section will contain the following tabs:
Wizard: This section will either list questions for you to answer, or go directly to the template preview. To add and edit the content, select “Click here to Add This Template to Your Business Plan.” If you do not want to include a certain section in your plan, skip it and move down to the next sub-category using the menu on the left hand side.
Template: Once you click the button to add the template to your business plan, you will be directed to the “Template” tab. Here you can click into the box and edit the data. Make sure to save your work, especially if you have to log out. Once completed, click the “Continue” button.
Explanation: Click into this section at any time to view a written explanation of what information is required for that particular section.
Comments: This tab allows you and Consultants to leave comments regarding a particular section.
Help: Watch an instructional video to learn more about a particular section.