best business plan firms

Starting a Business | Buyer's Guide

6 Best Business Plan Writing Services

Published October 21, 2020

Published Oct 21, 2020

WRITTEN BY: Blake Stockton

This article is part of a larger series on Starting a Business .

A well-written, well-researched business plan is vital to the success of a new business or venture. It can attract investors and help you get a bank loan. Not every businessperson has the time or expertise to craft a winning business plan. Fortunately, there are companies with decades of experience that will assist. We evaluated several and found the six below to be the best business plan writing services available.

Top 6 Business Plan Writing Services

How we evaluated business plan writing services.

All the business plan writing services we evaluated had MBA writers and years of experience in many industries. To distinguish the best, we examined the following:

• Price: Most do not list prices, although customer quotes put many of them in the $3,000 range.
• Expertise: We considered years in service, qualifications of the writing and management teams, and industries served.
• Types of Business Plans: Some companies focus only on plans for funding or strategic planning. Others offered more specific plans like visa business plans. Still, others narrowed their focus more tightly. Some also offer pitch decks and presentation-ready formats.
• Turnaround Time: The average business plan turnaround time was two weeks, with additional time for revisions. Always ask about how much time you get for revisions and if there are additional costs involved.
• Additional Services: Several of these companies offer additional services to help you succeed. If you are considering mentorship or know you’ll need some assessment, having one of these companies build your plan could give you a head start in building a relationship.

Bargain Business Plan: Best Overall Business Plan Writing Service

Bargain Business Plan is one of the least expensive business plan services we reviewed. Still, it offers experienced writers and a wide range of plans that includes immigration and visa plans. Overall, it has excellent reviews from customers. You can view samples of their well-designed plans. It’s the only service that provides flat-rate pricing as well.

Visit Bargain Business Plan

Bargain Business Plan Pricing

• Bargain: $1,599. For startup businesses with simple business models looking to apply for small business loans or seeking a blueprint for development
• Economical: $1,999. For startup and existing businesses with a more complex operation, such as restaurants and child care centers
• Optimum: $2,799. For businesses seeking government grants, investments from venture capitalists, and funding through the SBA’s CDC/504 Loan Program
• L-1 Visa: $1,999
• E-2 Visa: $2,199
• EB-5 Visa: $3,499
• Consultations: Free

Bargain Business Plan Services

• Detailed Business Plans: All plans include custom written business plans with market analysis, financial projections, and marketing plans. Higher-level plans offer more details, and each plan is designed for its specific purpose. For example, SBA loan versus visa.
• Quick Turnaround: Drafts are done in seven to 10 days, with 14 days of unlimited revisions.
• Experience: Bargain Business Plan has served 900 industries over the past 12 years and has worked with 500 partners and 10,000 customers. For immigration business plans, they work with immigration experts across the country. User reviews praise their expertise and attention to detail as well as share successes.

Why We Like Bargain Business Plan

Startups don’t always have a big budget for business plans, but it can be a key document for achieving success. Bargain Business Plan offers custom, well-researched, and beautifully designed business plans at excellent prices. The willingness to revise is a big plus as well.

Optimal Thinking: Best Plan Writing Service for Startup and Growing Companies

Optimal Thinking says it best works on business plans for “early stage and existing businesses expanding organically or via acquisition.” It claims a 92% success rate with its business proposals. In addition, it offers other programs to help businesses succeed.

Visit Optimal Thinking

Optimal Thinking Pricing

Varies anywhere from $5,000 to $30,000, depending on plan and scope. Call for a quote.

Optimal Thinking Services

• Expertise: Optimal Thinking has team members who are senior business executives, MBA writers, and industry experts in financing, operating, and marketing companies of all sizes. It  also has 27 years’ experience in writing business plans.
• Plans address potential roadblocks: Optimal Thinking helps ensure success by anticipating potential business challenges, such as restrictive government regulations, economic issues, or market industry changes. Then, it includes ways to work around or through these issues.
• Additional Programs: The company offers mentorship, employee motivation programs, and business assessments of communications, resources, opportunities, and more.

Why We Like Optimal Thinking

Optimal Thinking works with large companies such as Red Bull and Warner Brothers. Its writers have extensive experience in financials and business. Applying that knowledge to a business plan, even for a startup, means you will get not only a well-written and well-researched plan but also one that is informed by their years of expertise. This is also a company you can build a relationship with—get coaching and assistance in other areas of your business.

Wise Business Plans: Best Business Plan Writing Service for Specialized Plans

Wise Business Plans has one of the widest varieties of plans of the providers we reviewed. Its business plans are well-researched and thought out, as well as beautifully designed. It works to make sure your ideas and the plan are sound and offer additional services to help you with execution, including funding referrals.

Visit Wise Business Plans

Wise Business Plans Pricing

Pricing varies, though users have quoted prices around $3,000. To get a specific quote, call for a consultation. After the first revision, Wise Business Plans charges $199 per revision.

Wise Business Plans Services

• Investor Business Plan
• Bank Business Plan
• Strategic Business Plan
• Nonprofit Business Plan
• Franchise Business Plan
• L-1 Business Plan
• E-2 Business Plan
• EB-5 Business Plan
• EB-5 Regional Centers
• Merger And Acquisition Business Plan (M&A)
• Private Placement Memorandums (PPM)

It also offers professional feasibility studies, PowerPoint presentations, pitch decks, and straight market research.

• Bookkeeping Services
• Graphic Design Services
• Logo Design
• Flyer and Brochure Design Services
• Business Printing Services
• Concierge Services
• Business Consulting Services for Startup Company
• Website Design
• Business E-books Resources
• Small Business Marketing Services
• Experience: Wise Business Plans hires MBA writers, financial and market analysts, and graphics designers. The company has done thousands of business plans in over 400 industries.

Why We Like Wise Business Plans

Wise Business Plans has a reputation for doing more than creating a plan for you. It challenges you to make sure your assumptions and ideas are the best they can be. Reviewers on its Facebook page praise the quality of the final product, noting especially the graphics.

Pro Business Plans: Best Business Plan Writing Service for Startups & Canadian Visas

Pro Business Plans gets props for the focus of its plans. While all the services we reviewed will build custom business plans, Pro Business Plans is one of the few that has plans that specifically focus on specific issues. It also has industry experts in finance/accounting and immigration.

Visit Pro Business Plans

Pro Business Plans Pricing

Pricing varies—call for a consultation.

Pro Business Plans Services

• Focus: Pro Business Plans offers the usual range of business plans: SBA/bank, investment, L-1, E-2, EB-5. However, it also has plans specifically for nonprofits, startups, and the Canadian visa (PNP) program. It also has a pure market analysis product if your goal is to understand your industry before launching your business or expanding into a new area.
• Experience: Many Pro Business Plans team members come from major accounting firms or have extensive experience working in venture investment capital. The company has served over 900 industries and has over 500 partners, including contacts in the visa application process.
• Fast Turnaround: You can get your business plan drafted in four to seven calendar days, with seven days of close collaboration to get all the details polished.

Why We Like Pro Business Plans

In addition to the variety of plans and experience of the writers, what impressed us about Pro Business Plans was that users said they often went beyond simply writing the plan, providing advice and coaching during the process. Other reviews praised its market and financial research.

Go Business Plans: Best Business Plan Writing Service for Visa Business Plans

While Go Business Plans can work with any industry, its business consultants have had notable success with E-2, EB-5, and L-1 visa business plans. It can create business plans for investors, Small Business Administration (SBA) loans, and strategic and internal planning.

Visit Go Business Plans

Go Business Plans Pricing

Go Business Plans does custom pricing within the range of $2,000 to $10,000.

Go Business Plans Services

• Customized templates: The writers create custom plans. First, they schedule a one-hour interview with you for the basics, then conduct market research, financial analysis, and company and industry analysis, and compare you to the competition. They work with you to ensure it meets your expectations as well as SBA standards.
• Advice and Assistance: Go Business Plans brainstorms and researches business strategies to advise you and can help with creating a website, generating leads, implementing marketing, and other services.
• Immigration/Visa Business Plans: Go Business Plans has helped entrepreneurs from over 100 countries get their visas. It has drafted plans for 300 lawyers and over 1200 applicants. It works directly with your lawyer to make sure the plan and the legal applications are consistent as well.
• Extensive market research: The business consultants have access to over 15 market research databases, including some of the top-tier ones like IBISWorld, Euromonitor, Hoovers, Mintel, Statista, Freedonia, Frost & Sullivan, Forrester, and First Research.

Why We Like Go Business Plans

This business plan writing service offers expertise at competitive prices, and according to past customers, is willing to go the extra mile to help ensure success. Many customers of its business plans went on to use its other services such as website development.

LivePlan: Best Business Plan Writing Software for DIY

Rather than a consulting service that writes the plans for you, LivePlan is a software that helps you build a business plan. Plans start at $20 per month, and prices decrease if you purchase a six-month or annual plan. It offers additional tools to monitor your company’s progress, as well. This is the right choice for the entrepreneur on a budget or one who has done the research and needs a software to help them put it into an attractive format for presentation.

Visit LivePlan

LivePlan Pricing

LivePlan has a pay-as-you-go system but discounts for multiple months. Your first month is only $10, and it offers a 60-day money-back guarantee.

• $20 per month, for monthly plans (First month $10)
• $18 per month for six months
• $15 per month for 12 months

LivePlan Features

• Ease of use: Start by filling out the questionnaire and follow the instructions to create a basic plan. The software creates the financial tables, charts, and reports. Choose from 10 themes to create a professional-looking report that is SBA-approved.
• Integrations: Sync to your QuickBooks or Xero to create reports or update sections. Export plans to Word or PDF, or put it in PowerPoint to make a slideshow presentation.
• Tools that go beyond the business plan: LivePlan offers real-time performance dashboards to track budgets and goals. Benchmark data shows you how you are faring compared to others in your industry or location. Create and track milestones for measuring your progress as you grow.
• Help features and examples: If you are blocked or unsure how to create a part of your plan, you can access over 500 examples in all types of industries and watch expert tutorials. Have a problem with the software? Reach support by phone, email, or chat.

Why We Like LivePlan

LivePlan offers an economical way for businesses that are comfortable with their data to create professional business plans for investors or banks. Additionally, it lets you create as many as you wish, so you can customize your plans for your audience or need or update them as your company grows. With budgeting and forecasting tools, it also helps you execute your business plan so your company can succeed.

Other Business Plan Writing Services Worth Considering:

• Cayenne Consulting: Cayenne provides a highly qualified team of writers and has experience not only in business plan writing but also in other investment materials and private placements. It’s a good service for those looking for funding.
• Growthink: This company has highly qualified and educated writers with extensive international experience. It is good for international businesses and business plans for strategic planning and mergers or acquisitions.
• Masterplans: This company is more expensive than most on our list (prices ranging from $10,000 to $49,999) but is a highly reputable company that has created over 18,000 business plans for SMBs to multimillion-dollar investment projects.
• Way2markit: This company provides business plans for investing, franchises, nonprofits, banks/SBA loans, and more. It also provides other business services from idea development to website design.
• Freelance: You can find qualified business plan writers on freelance sites like Upwork. They may be less expensive. Before hiring anyone, be sure to check their qualifications and portfolio.

Bottom Line

Business plans are not cheap to create, but they can pay off by getting additional investment, secured loans, visas, or a clear direction for your company’s growth. For research purposes, be sure to know which type of business plan is right for your company. Each of the six business plan writing services reviewed offers decades of experience, high-quality reports, and reasonable prices.

Learn more about How to Start a Business in our complete guide.

About the Author

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Blake Stockton

Blake Stockton is a staff writer at Fit Small Business focusing on how to start brick-and-mortar and online businesses. He is a frequent guest lecturer at several undergraduate business and MBA classes at University of North Florida . Prior to joining Fit Small Business, Blake consulted with over 700 small biz owners and assisted with starting and growing their businesses.

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Business Plan Writing Service

Maximize your chances of getting funded

Our business plan writers develop plans that can help you win funding.

What you can expect working with our Team:

Business planning pros

You’ll work with a professional plan writer who will build a custom business plan for your unique industry

The #1 planning tool

Get free access to LivePlan software, which makes it easier to share and update your plan

A winning format

Our unique business plan format has helped over 1 million businesses

Expert business plan writers for any type of business

Business plans for startups

• Establish milestones to achieve success.
• Outline accurate startup costs.
• Fully establish the vision for your business.

Pitching to investors

• Plans are formatted to meet lenders' expectations.
• Ensures your projected financials are realistic.
• Be prepared with a strong plan to back up your pitch.

Retail, eCommerce, restaurants and other popular industries

• Plan writers with experience and expertise in your industry.
• Insights into what details are vital to succeed in your industry.
• Develop a strong value proposition to stand out from the competition.

What makes our business plan writing services different?

Our business plan format has helped companies raise millions.

Our writers use a business plan structure that has been tested and refined over the past 20 years. So when you hire a LivePlan business plan writer, you'll be maximizing your chances of securing a loan or investment.

Business plan writers trusted by top business schools across the U.S.

Since 1988, Palo Alto Software—the creator of LivePlan—has helped over a million entrepreneurs achieve success. Our business plan structure is even taught at top universities, such as Princeton and Rice.

Get matched with a business plan writer who knows your industry

Our writers are experienced professionals who have written hundreds of business plans. That means there will most likely be someone on our team who has experience in your specific industry.

The best decision I could have made to launch my business in the right direction. I definitely recommend these services to entrepreneurs and future small business owners.

Melinda Holden

Elite Liason Consulting

Maximize your chances of securing funding

Hire a LivePlan business plan writer today

How the process works:

Research and discovery

We first gain an in-depth understanding of your business. Then, we begin market research and examine your growth drivers.

Plan Writing

Once our research is complete, we'll write the body of your business plan and provide you with a draft to review.

Financial modeling

We'll turn your financial assumptions into forecasts that include everything lenders and investors need to see.

Design and review

You'll get a polished business plan with a design that matches your brand. You can then print the plan or share it online with a unique and private link.

Ready to get started?

Fill out the form below to connect with a liveplan team member, your request has been received..

A LivePlan business plan writing expert will email your quote shortly.

Get a head start today:

My plan writer was responsive, and understood my vision from our first communication. I now have a living document that I can use and manipulate as needed going forward.

Marcus Flowers

TimeOut Sports Bar & Grill

Frequently Asked Questions

Business plan writing help and services for hire, will you review my plan and make changes.

Our review-only service just includes feedback, but if you decide you'd like to engage in our full plan writing service after participating in a review, we'll give you a discount.

What if I already started writing my plan?

If you have a partially completed plan, we can work with that. In fact, it helps the plan writing process go faster because we'll have to ask fewer questions, but you'll want to choose the full business plan writing service.

Do you do market research? What does that include?

Yes, we do market research. We have access to industry reports for most industries and we will use them to lend more credibility to your plan and validate the assumptions we are making in your financials.

What is included with the full plan writing service?

When it's all said and done, you'll have a full, lender or investor ready business plan, a one page pitch, and a free year of LivePlan so you can make changes to your plan as well as use our cash flow and business management tools to stay on track.

Can you guarantee that my business will get funded?

There are a lot of factors that go into the decision making process for lending that are beyond our control, like your personal credit. What we can say is that it is very difficult to get funding without a solid business plan and we make solid business plans.

Will you share my information?

We take your privacy very seriously and will not share your information.

How long will it take to finish my plan? / Do you offer an expedited service?

The average business plan completes in 3-6 weeks, depending on your responsiveness to your writer and our work load. We offer expedited services if you are in a rush.

Yes, we can deliver an expedited plan in as little as two weeks for an additional $1,000.

Does my business plan include financials?

What formats do you deliver in.

We deliver in PDF format, Word and we also give you access to edit your plan in a free LivePlan account.

How many pages is the average business plan?

We subscribe to the lean business planning method so we try to keep your plan short and to the point. Depending on the complexity of your business, your finished plan can end up being anywhere from 25-50 pages.

Pricing and Options

How much does this service cost.

The full plan writing service cost can vary depending on your needs. Book a call with us to request a quote. We also offer a lower cost business plan review service and a forecasting service.

Do you offer a la carte services?

We offer a review service (feedback only, no edits), forecast only service or full business plan writing service. If you have a partially completed plan, we can work with that, but you'll want to choose the full business plan writing service.

Do you offer a review service?

Yes. One of our business planning experts can review your plan and financials line by line and give you critical and constructive feedback to help improve your plan and increase your confidence when it comes time to deliver.

Do you offer an expedited service?

What if i don't like my plan.

You'll have the opportunity to review and leave feedback after each draft. We recommend taking the time to be thorough and thoughtful in your feedback as that is your chance to help mold your plan into something that really resonates with you.

Expert Plan Writers and Consultants

Who writes my business plan.

You will be paired with one dedicated individual from our small team of highly trained and experienced business planning professionals. Each one is a uniquely qualified business planning expert who can translate your ideas into a business plan that will appeal to your audience.

Is my plan writer an expert in my industry?

Our business plan writers are experts specifically in business plan writing. We've worked with every industry imaginable so the likelihood that they have some familiarity with your industry is high, but if you are looking for a business consultant this may not be a good fit.

What kind of background will my writer have? Are they outsourced from other countries? Have they been writing business plans for very long?

We are a small team of well educated business planning experts. Each writer's background varies but they all have financial or business education as well as years, small business management or consulting and business plan writing experience. They are all well vetted and really good at what they do, which is write plans that help you get funded.

Small Business Definitions

What is a business plan.

In its simplest form, a business plan is a guide—a roadmap for your business that outlines goals and details how you plan to achieve those goals. At its heart, a business plan is just a plan for how your business is going to work, and how you're going to make it succeed. Read our full article on "What is a business plan" here.

What is in a business plan?

The executive summary is an overview of your business and your plans. It comes first in your plan and is ideally only one to two pages. Most people write it last, though.

The opportunity section answers these questions: What are you actually selling and how are you solving a problem (or "need") for your market? Who is your target market and competition?

In the execution chapter of your business plan, you'll answer the question: how are you going to take your opportunity and turn it into a business? This section will cover your marketing and sales plan, operations, and your milestones and metrics for success.

Investors look for great teams in addition to great ideas. Use the company and management chapter to describe your current team and who you need to hire. You will also provide a quick overview of your legal structure, location, and history if you're already up and running.

Your business plan isn't complete without a financial forecast . We'll tell you what to include in your financial plan, but you'll definitely want to start with a sales forecast, cash flow statement, income statement (also called profit and loss), and your balance sheet.

If you need more space for product images or additional information, use the appendix for those details.

Read our full article "How to Write a Business Plan — the Comprehensive Guide" for more information, here.

Why is a business plan important?

There are many reasons why it is important to have a business plan. A business plan is essential if you're seeking a loan or investment, can help you make big spending decisions with confidence and is a solid foundation for ongoing strategic planning and prioritization. Read our full article on "8 Reasons Having a Business Plan is Important" here.

What is a business plan writer/consultant?

A business plan writer/consultant is a business and financial expert who can help guide you through the process of creating a business plan and do much of the labor involved in creating it. They will work with you to understand your business model, do market research, create financial projections and offer guidance as all of those pieces are brought together in a full business plan document.

How to pick a business plan writer/consultant?

Picking a business plan writer or business plan consultant is an important decision — you'll want to find someone dedicated to your success, with experience in your industry or field and that is in it for the long haul. Read our full article on "Things to Look for When Hiring a Business Plan Writer" here.

Why should you pay someone to write your business plan?

You don't have time. Starting a business is time consuming. Oftentimes people have to juggle a regular 9-5 job while working on starting their business. That doesn't leave a lot of time for a big writing project. Hiring a professional to write your business plan can help you give you time to focus on the tasks that are critical to getting your business off the ground.

You want to make sure it is done right, the first time. You only get one chance to make a first impression. Hiring a professional to write your plan for you can give you the peace of mind that your plan is the best it can be when you present it to potential lenders or investors.

ZenBusinessPlans

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13 Best Companies That Offer Business Plan Writing Services

Do you want to hire a business plan writer? If YES, here are 50 best companies that offer professional business plan writing services at an affordable rate.

A business plan writing service is a team of business experts that take the ideas of an entrepreneur, combine it with their own properly conducted research and deductions, and come out with a professional, well-formatted business plan. Entrepreneurs that want the best chances at getting funding usually turn to business plan writing companies to help them craft a winning business plan.

Despite the fact that business plan writing services generally cost higher than business plan creation software or phone apps, but that does not prevent them from getting the number of clients they need because entrepreneurs are aware of the importance of the services they render.

Whether you’re building a startup from the ground up and seeking your first investment round, or you have a mature company and need a plan in place to garner new insights, having a professional to help conduct research and outline the model is imperative.

While you may have settled with your mind to hire the services of a business plan writer, but you must know that not all business plan services can offer you a professionally written work that can give you the best chances towards getting that funding. This is the reason why we have decided to bring you some of the popular and best business plan writing companies in the united states and the cost their services go for.

13 Best Companies That Offer Professional Business Plan Writing Services and How Much They Charge Clients

• Wise Business Plans
• Cost – $1,650

Wise Business Plans is a business plan writing service that is based in Las Vegas, Nevada. The company writes business plans for businesses seeking venture capital and angel investors as well as businesses interested in applying for SBA loans , E2 visas and L1 visas.

Wise Business Plans are in the business of producing high quality business plans, and their plans contain market and industry research that are drawn from a wide range of sources. Its turnaround times have been known to be above average. Wise Business Plans works with many Fortune 500 companies as well as UPS. It has also partnered with the popular business plan software LivePlan to provide a business writing service to its customers.

When working with Wise Business Plans, you can expect to find a thorough analysis of your business’s industry, including growth trends. The business plan will also look at your business’s market, which includes demographic data about current and potential customers as well as macro and microsegmentation, giving potential investors a complete idea of your business’s potential.

Cost estimates of their business plans are based on estimates for a brick-and-mortar business’s plan. At $1,650, the cost is only slightly higher than the average of $1,500. Again, the cost can vary depending on how complex the plan is. A business plan for a startup looking for venture capital can be more expensive than a plan for a business looking for an SBA loan.

• Go Business Plans
• Cost – $2,000 to $10,000

Based in Los Angeles, California, Go Business Plans writes business plans that serve a variety of business’s needs, ranging from SBA loans and visa applications to plans seeking venture capital funding. Go Business Plans rated well in terms of the quality of its business plans and its comprehensive feature set.

Go Business Plans are reputed to contain a thorough market and industry analysis, a complete set of financial forecasts, marketing plans as well as a competitive analysis. The company also prides itself on the quality of it plans. The writing service does not offer a separate service to review existing business plans, instead reserving that for clients that already use or have agreed to use its other services.

This means that while you can’t have Go Business Plans review your current plan without signing up for another service, if you take advantage of any other offering available from this company, you can have your business plan reviewed for an extra cost.

Depending on your business plan, this can cost between $150 and $300. Go Business Plans cost varies based on the kind of business plan you need. But generally their business plan writing service costs between $2,000 to $10,000.

• The Plan Writers
• Cost – $1,200 to $5,000

The Plan Writers is a Beverly Hills, California-based business plan service that offers a variety of consulting services in addition to business plan writing. Their business plans are available for businesses and entrepreneurs interested in applying for visas or SBA loans, or those looking for venture capital or angel investor financing. The Plan Writers is also experienced with helping companies go public as well as creating feasibility plans.

When you engage the services of The Plan Writers, you’ll begin the process with a free 30-minute consultation. During this consultation, you’ll discuss your business and industry with the sales rep. If you want to speak longer, you’ll need to pay $200 for another hour. This fee is added to the final cost of your business plan.

Once you’ve commissioned The Plan Writers to create a business plan for you, it usually takes between nine to 10 days to receive the first draft. After you receive your plan, you have two weeks to submit any revisions. This is shorter than other services, but The Plan Writers gets revisions done quick, usually in about one to two days.

As with all business plan services, the costs vary depending on the complexity of your plan. Those plans usually cost around $1,200 to $1,500. Plans for startups or companies seeking larger amounts of capital can cost upwards of $5,000.

• Capital West Advisors
• Cost – $100 to $120 per hour

Capital West Advisors is business advisor company that also provides business plan writing services. They are headquartered in Los Angeles, CA, and their mission is to provide high quality business plan writing and capital introduction services at the most competitive prices in the industry.

Capital West Advisors was launched in 2006 and since then they have been providing business planning and capital introduction services to several hundred clients across the U.S. and around the world in a wide array of industries. CWA prices its business plans based on a rate of $100 to $120 per hour at a highly efficient rate. Most firms charge $125-$200 per hour at a less efficient rate.

• Cost – Not disclosed

OGScapital is a team of experienced experts that help entrepreneurs produces a well written business plan as well as provide other services. The company was founded by a team of 8 senior business experts in 2006. From the start, their main goal as professional business plan writers has been to support startups and medium-sized enterprises as they move to the next level, helping them achieve their objectives and become market leaders.

Their expert business plan writers have helped business owners raise debt and equity financing critical to operational startup and growth. The OGScapital team of Online business plan writers does not stop working until the client is 100% satisfied.

The company produce business plans in fields such as accounting, marketing, legal, IT, design and other business services. As of now, their team includes 60 highly experienced consultants. With their business model and offices in the US, Canada, Australia, and the uk, OGScapital is able to help entrepreneurs worldwide.

Once you contact them, you will receive your business plan with within 10-15 days. OGScapital did not disclose their charges, but they disclosed that the client would pay a 50% prepayment before the job commences, with the remaining balance paid upon completion (only when you are 100% satisfied).

• Deutsch & Thomas
• Cost: $425 USD

Deutsch & Thomas, Inc. is a business plan writing service that offer professional business plan preparation for startups and small businesses. Registered as Deutsch and Thomas, Inc., their experience building business plans will help you when approaching investors, bankers, and potential clients.

The company has the ability to create financial projections, management and mission statements, and expenditure estimates. Their service also includes electronic presentation preparation. All their business plans are completed within 5 to 6 business days of contact.

Deutsch & Thomas was founded in 2005 by Matthew Deutsch. The business has been in operation for over fourteen years, and was run as a partnership prior to its incorporation. Since its inception, the company has helped small and medium sized businesses raise more than $585,000,000 through plans developed by their team.

• Pro Business Plans

Pro Business Plans is a leading group of individuals offering business plan consulting and writing services to organizations and individuals. The team is driven by passion, quality and expertise, and they aim to create an accurate road map on various topics to help customers attain achievable targets in minimal time.

Founded in 1999, Pro Business Plans works with international companies from Startups to Fortune 500 across a diverse range of industries to prepare stunning business plans, pitch decks, and investment materials. Pro Business Plans delivers investment banking quality with the attention and care of an in-house consultant.

Its business plan samples reflect its meticulous attention to detail and reflect the of their clients’ company. The financials are accurate and based on the most widely respected market research groups on the United States.

The company has assisted startups, early stage ventures, nonprofits, and existing companies to launch and expand their operation. The company did not disclose its costs.

• Optimal Thinking
• Cost – $5,000

Optimal thinking is a marketing and writing service that began in 1985. The company has writing specialists that consult with their clients to help them achieve the objectives of their business. With 27 years of experience, the company serves as organizations’ trusted writing and editorial department.

The optimal thinking professional business plan writers have more than 250 years of combined experience writing successful business plans. They can help you provide a professionally optimized operational plan, feasibility plan, expansion plan, annual plan, internal plan or a new product plan. But their charges can be quite hefty as it can get up to $5,000.

Optimal thinking works with companies from start-ups, small businesses and large organizations including Warner Bros., Johnson & Johnson, U.S. Treasury, National Australia Bank, Air New Zealand, Young Presidents’ Organization and Red Bull.

• Bargain business plans
• Cost – $1399 to $2499

Bargain Business Plan is a business plan writing service that has served over 10,000 entrepreneurs and small business owners since 2008. The company has garnered experience in nearly every industry and market available.

Bargain Business Plan writers take the time to get to know their clients, so that they can effectively develop a custom business plan which will meet their needs. Whether you’re in the conception stage of your business or expanding your brand to a new market, their team of business plan writers and consultants will work to ensure you’re in position to succeed.

This is the reason why they are always mentioned when it comes to leading business plan writing companies in the United States.

Their team of dedicated business plan writers, consultants, and financial analysts all work together to ensure that their business plans are always up to standard. Their the cost of writing business plans in the company can range anywhere from $1399 to $2499.

• Cayenne Consulting

Cayenne has been around for a long time and is another good provider of business plan writing and consulting service in the United States. They have a good senior management team that has a lot of case experience which can be helpful to startup and growth stage companies of all kinds. They also can prepare additional investment related materials such as private placements and more.

Founder of the Cayenne Consulting, Akira Hirai, started the business in March 2001, because venture capitalists kept telling him that the business plans and financial forecasts he had prepared for his own companies were among the best they had seen.

In addition to business plan writing, the company also conducts strategy development, market research and analysis, competitor research and analysis, business plan preparation, financial analysis and forecasting, presentation materials, and developing a capital formation strategy.

This frees you up to focus on building something that investors might actually be interested in: a company in a large market with a compelling value proposition, strong competitive advantages, excellent growth potential, and a team that can make it happen.

Their team is located across the nation and have industry expertise in many high-growth markets, including green technologies, life science, software, Internet, telecommunications, and financial services. Their services can range from a few thousand dollars to several tens of thousands of dollars.

• Newton Group Marketing
• Cost: $1,900 – 3,900

Newton Group Marketing specializes in writing powerful and compelling proposals and business plans to obtain needed financing from major banks and investment firms.

The company collaborates with highly specialized and reputable individuals to help create exceptional quality websites, proposals and other marketing pieces. Collectively, the Newton Group Marketing team brings decades of experience and specialized expertise in their respective fields, to bring remarkable quality and bottom-line results to clients.

Although originally based in Vancouver, BC, the company teamed up with professional business plan writers in Toronto and throughout Canada, and offers marketing services sessions to multiple locations in the world. They work with most clients freelance through software such as Skype, email and phone consultation to maximize both time and efficiency for customers.

Their clients can choose from 3 different business plan packages to best meet their funding needs. All plans include Executive Summary, Complete Market Analysis, Competitive Analysis, Financials (Income Statement, Cash Flow Statements, Balance Sheet), and they are usually between 15-35 pages in length depending on plan type.

• Cost – not disclosed

Growthink is one of the world’s leading business plan development firm. Founded in 1999, the company has helped more than 1,600 clients – including entrepreneurs, small businesses, middle-market companies, Fortune 500 corporations and non-profit organizations – develop world-class business plans. As evidence of the quality of their work, Growthink clients have raised more than $1 billion in growth capital.

Growthink does not have pre-set pricing tiers for their consulting work. Each and every Growthink business plan is 100% customized based on the client’s specific needs and objectives. As a result of their in-depth consultative business planning process, Growthink consultants typically invest 4 to 6 weeks to fully develop and finalize a business plan.

In 1999, Growthink co-founders and Dave Lavinsky and Jay Turo graduated with their MBAs from UCLA’s Anderson School of Management. They conceived Growthink from their deep and abiding passion and curiosity for business. Growthink has worked with many companies and assist in not only business plans, but also business consulting in many aspects.

They also provide many other services such as business analytics, banking, products, and other services geared towards helping business owners.

• Master Plans
• Cost – $1,900 to $7,500

Masterplans, based in Portland, Oregon, writes business plans for SBA loans, visa applications as well as for businesses seeking venture capital or angel investors. In addition to business plan writing, Masterplans can also review your existing business plan and give you feedback and suggestions for improvement. The plans offered by this service are high quality, and rate well in terms of cost and turnaround times.

Masterplans assigns a team of experts to help with your business plan, and a manager works to organize and update you on the project as it progresses. Each expert works individually on the market analysis, financial forecasts and business narrative. By dividing the plan up, Masterplans can complete your plan faster.

It usually takes between seven to 10 days before you receive the first draft of your business plan. If you need your plan quickly, you can get a rush job for an additional fee. Business plans through Masterplans range from $1,900 to $7,500, depending on the type of plan you need.

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They are a sharp, creative, and results-focused group. I recommend them highly to companies of all sizes looking to turbo-charge the development of their strategic business plans and their businesses.

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I loved working with Growthink.

The staff are passionate about their work and committed to what they do in a way that can only be achieved when you love what you do. They helped keep us on track to achieve our planning goals.

I am looking forward to continued success working with everyone from Growthink in the future.

I absolutely loved working with Growthink!

They listened to our objectives and truly understood what our mission was prior to beginning our project. They hit all their milestones on-time and on-point. They ultimately delivered a very valuable tool that will have tremendous use to us in our growth plan.

I highly recommend Antonio and the Growthink team.

Growthink provided ZeroChaos with very thorough market research on the Human Capital Management Space.

Their team was very responsive and helped us with a business plan that expedited our quest for additional growth capital.

Growthink’s focus and persistence has been very valuable as our management team works to grow our revenue stream.

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The 7 Best Business Plan Examples (2024)

As an aspiring entrepreneur gearing up to start your own business , you likely know the importance of drafting a business plan. However, you might not be entirely sure where to begin or what specific details to include. That’s where examining business plan examples can be beneficial. Sample business plans serve as real-world templates to help you craft your own plan with confidence. They also provide insight into the key sections that make up a business plan, as well as demonstrate how to structure and present your ideas effectively.

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Example business plan

To understand how to write a business plan, let’s study an example structured using a seven-part template. Here’s a quick overview of those parts:

• Executive summary: A quick overview of your business and the contents of your business plan.
• Company description: More info about your company, its goals and mission, and why you started it in the first place.
• Market analysis: Research about the market and industry your business will operate in, including a competitive analysis about the companies you’ll be up against.
• Products and services: A detailed description of what you’ll be selling to your customers.
• Marketing plan: A strategic outline of how you plan to market and promote your business before, during, and after your company launches into the market.
• Logistics and operations plan: An explanation of the systems, processes, and tools that are needed to run your business in the background.
• Financial plan: A map of your short-term (and even long-term) financial goals and the costs to run the business. If you’re looking for funding, this is the place to discuss your request and needs.

7 business plan examples (section by section)

In this section, you’ll find hypothetical and real-world examples of each aspect of a business plan to show you how the whole thing comes together. 

• Executive summary

Your executive summary offers a high-level overview of the rest of your business plan. You’ll want to include a brief description of your company, market research, competitor analysis, and financial information. 

In this free business plan template, the executive summary is three paragraphs and occupies nearly half the page:

• Company description

You might go more in-depth with your company description and include the following sections:

• Nature of the business. Mention the general category of business you fall under. Are you a manufacturer, wholesaler, or retailer of your products?
• Background information. Talk about your past experiences and skills, and how you’ve combined them to fill in the market. 
• Business structure. This section outlines how you registered your company —as a corporation, sole proprietorship, LLC, or other business type.
• Industry. Which business sector do you operate in? The answer might be technology, merchandising, or another industry.
• Team. Whether you’re the sole full-time employee of your business or you have contractors to support your daily workflow, this is your chance to put them under the spotlight.

You can also repurpose your company description elsewhere, like on your About page, Instagram page, or other properties that ask for a boilerplate description of your business. Hair extensions brand Luxy Hair has a blurb on it’s About page that could easily be repurposed as a company description for its business plan. 

• Market analysis

Market analysis comprises research on product supply and demand, your target market, the competitive landscape, and industry trends. You might do a SWOT analysis to learn where you stand and identify market gaps that you could exploit to establish your footing. Here’s an example of a SWOT analysis for a hypothetical ecommerce business: 

You’ll also want to run a competitive analysis as part of the market analysis component of your business plan. This will show you who you’re up against and give you ideas on how to gain an edge over the competition. 

• Products and services

This part of your business plan describes your product or service, how it will be priced, and the ways it will compete against similar offerings in the market. Don’t go into too much detail here—a few lines are enough to introduce your item to the reader.

• Marketing plan

Potential investors will want to know how you’ll get the word out about your business. So it’s essential to build a marketing plan that highlights the promotion and customer acquisition strategies you’re planning to adopt. 

Most marketing plans focus on the four Ps: product, price, place, and promotion. However, it’s easier when you break it down by the different marketing channels . Mention how you intend to promote your business using blogs, email, social media, and word-of-mouth marketing. 

Here’s an example of a hypothetical marketing plan for a real estate website:

Logistics and operations

This section of your business plan provides information about your production, facilities, equipment, shipping and fulfillment, and inventory.

Financial plan

The financial plan (a.k.a. financial statement) offers a breakdown of your sales, revenue, expenses, profit, and other financial metrics. You’ll want to include all the numbers and concrete data to project your current and projected financial state.

In this business plan example, the financial statement for ecommerce brand Nature’s Candy includes forecasted revenue, expenses, and net profit in graphs.

It then goes deeper into the financials, citing:

• Funding needs
• Project cash-flow statement
• Project profit-and-loss statement
• Projected balance sheet

You can use Shopify’s financial plan template to create your own income statement, cash-flow statement, and balance sheet. 

Types of business plans (and what to write for each)

A one-page business plan is a pared down version of a standard business plan that’s easy for potential investors and partners to understand. You’ll want to include all of these sections, but make sure they’re abbreviated and summarized:

• Logistics and operations plan
• Financials 

A startup business plan is meant to secure outside funding for a new business. Typically, there’s a big focus on the financials, as well as other sections that help determine the viability of your business idea—market analysis, for example. Shopify has a great business plan template for startups that include all the below points:

• Market research: in depth
• Financials: in depth

Internal 

Your internal business plan acts as the enforcer of your company’s vision. It reminds your team of the long-term objective and keeps them strategically aligned toward the same goal. Be sure to include:

• Market research

Feasibility 

A feasibility business plan is essentially a feasibility study that helps you evaluate whether your product or idea is worthy of a full business plan. Include the following sections:

A strategic (or growth) business plan lays out your long-term vision and goals. This means your predictions stretch further into the future, and you aim for greater growth and revenue. While crafting this document, you use all the parts of a usual business plan but add more to each one:

• Products and services: for launch and expansion
• Market analysis: detailed analysis
• Marketing plan: detailed strategy
• Logistics and operations plan: detailed plan
• Financials: detailed projections

Free business plan templates

Now that you’re familiar with what’s included and how to format a business plan, let’s go over a few templates you can fill out or draw inspiration from.

Bplans’ free business plan template

Bplans’ free business plan template focuses a lot on the financial side of running a business. It has many pages just for your financial plan and statements. Once you fill it out, you’ll see exactly where your business stands financially and what you need to do to keep it on track or make it better.

PandaDoc’s free business plan template

PandaDoc’s free business plan template is detailed and guides you through every section, so you don’t have to figure everything out on your own. Filling it out, you’ll grasp the ins and outs of your business and how each part fits together. It’s also handy because it connects to PandaDoc’s e-signature for easy signing, ideal for businesses with partners or a board.

Miro’s Business Model Canvas Template

Miro’s Business Model Canvas Template helps you map out the essentials of your business, like partnerships, core activities, and what makes you different. It’s a collaborative tool for you and your team to learn how everything in your business is linked.

Better business planning equals better business outcomes

Building a business plan is key to establishing a clear direction and strategy for your venture. With a solid plan in hand, you’ll know what steps to take for achieving each of your business goals. Kickstart your business planning and set yourself up for success with a defined roadmap—utilizing the sample business plans above to inform your approach.

Business plan FAQ

What are the 3 main points of a business plan.

• Concept. Explain what your business does and the main idea behind it. This is where you tell people what you plan to achieve with your business.
• Contents. Explain what you’re selling or offering. Point out who you’re selling to and who else is selling something similar. This part concerns your products or services, who will buy them, and who you’re up against.
• Cash flow. Explain how money will move in and out of your business. Discuss the money you need to start and keep the business going, the costs of running your business, and how much money you expect to make.

How do I write a simple business plan?

To create a simple business plan, start with an executive summary that details your business vision and objectives. Follow this with a concise description of your company’s structure, your market analysis, and information about your products or services. Conclude your plan with financial projections that outline your expected revenue, expenses, and profitability.

What is the best format to write a business plan?

The optimal format for a business plan arranges your plan in a clear and structured way, helping potential investors get a quick grasp of what your business is about and what you aim to achieve. Always start with a summary of your plan and finish with the financial details or any extra information at the end.

Want to learn more?

• Question: Are You a Business Owner or an Entrepreneur?
• Bootstrapping a Business: 10 Tips to Help You Succeed
• Entrepreneurial Mindset: 20 Ways to Think Like an Entrepreneur
• 101+ Best Small Business Software Programs 

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24 of My Favorite Sample Business Plans & Examples For Your Inspiration

Published: February 06, 2024

I believe that reading sample business plans is essential when writing your own.

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As you explore business plan examples from real companies and brands, it’s easier for you to learn how to write a good one.

But what does a good business plan look like? And how do you write one that’s both viable and convincing. I’ll walk you through the ideal business plan format along with some examples to help you get started.

Table of Contents

Business Plan Format

Business plan types, sample business plan templates, top business plan examples.

Ask any successful sports coach how they win so many games, and they’ll tell you they have a unique plan for every single game. To me, the same logic applies to business.

If you want to build a thriving company that can pull ahead of the competition, you need to prepare for battle before breaking into a market.

Business plans guide you along the rocky journey of growing a company. And if your business plan is compelling enough, it can also convince investors to give you funding.

With so much at stake, I’m sure you’re wondering where to begin.

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First, you’ll want to nail down your formatting. Most business plans include the following sections.

1. Executive Summary

I’d say the executive summary is the most important section of the entire business plan. 

Why? Essentially, it's the overview or introduction, written in a way to grab readers' attention and guide them through the rest of the business plan. This is important, because a business plan can be dozens or hundreds of pages long.

There are two main elements I’d recommend including in your executive summary:

Company Description

This is the perfect space to highlight your company’s mission statement and goals, a brief overview of your history and leadership, and your top accomplishments as a business.

Tell potential investors who you are and why what you do matters. Naturally, they’re going to want to know who they’re getting into business with up front, and this is a great opportunity to showcase your impact.

Need some extra help firming up those business goals? Check out HubSpot Academy’s free course to help you set goals that matter — I’d highly recommend it

Products and Services

To piggyback off of the company description, be sure to incorporate an overview of your offerings. This doesn’t have to be extensive — just another chance to introduce your industry and overall purpose as a business.

In addition to the items above, I recommend including some information about your financial projections and competitive advantage here too.:

Keep in mind you'll cover many of these topics in more detail later on in the business plan. So, keep the executive summary clear and brief, and only include the most important takeaways.

Executive Summary Business Plan Examples

This example was created with HubSpot’s business plan template:

This executive summary is so good to me because it tells potential investors a short story while still covering all of the most important details.

Image Source

Tips for Writing Your Executive Summary

• Start with a strong introduction of your company, showcase your mission and impact, and outline the products and services you provide.
• Clearly define a problem, and explain how your product solves that problem, and show why the market needs your business.
• Be sure to highlight your value proposition, market opportunity, and growth potential.
• Keep it concise and support ideas with data.
• Customize your summary to your audience. For example, emphasize finances and return on investment for venture capitalists.

Check out our tips for writing an effective executive summary for more guidance.

2. Market Opportunity

This is where you'll detail the opportunity in the market.

The main question I’d ask myself here is this: Where is the gap in the current industry, and how will my product fill that gap?

More specifically, here’s what I’d include in this section:

• The size of the market
• Current or potential market share
• Trends in the industry and consumer behavior
• Where the gap is
• What caused the gap
• How you intend to fill it

To get a thorough understanding of the market opportunity, you'll want to conduct a TAM, SAM, and SOM analysis and perform market research on your industry.

You may also benefit from creating a SWOT analysis to get some of the insights for this section.

Market Opportunity Business Plan Example

I like this example because it uses critical data to underline the size of the potential market and what part of that market this service hopes to capture.

Tips for Writing Your Market Opportunity Section

• Focus on demand and potential for growth.
• Use market research, surveys, and industry trend data to support your market forecast and projections.
• Add a review of regulation shifts, tech advances, and consumer behavior changes.
• Refer to reliable sources.
• Showcase how your business can make the most of this opportunity.

3. Competitive Landscape

Since we’re already speaking of market share, you'll also need to create a section that shares details on who the top competitors are.

After all, your customers likely have more than one brand to choose from, and you'll want to understand exactly why they might choose one over another.

My favorite part of performing a competitive analysis is that it can help you uncover:

• Industry trends that other brands may not be utilizing
• Strengths in your competition that may be obstacles to handle
• Weaknesses in your competition that may help you develop selling points
• The unique proposition you bring to the market that may resonate with customers

Competitive Landscape Business Plan Example

I like how the competitive landscape section of this business plan below shows a clear outline of who the top competitors are.

It also highlights specific industry knowledge and the importance of location, which shows useful experience in this specific industry. 

This can help build trust in your ability to execute your business plan.

Tips for Writing Your Competitive Landscape

• Complete in-depth research, then emphasize your most important findings.
• Compare your unique selling proposition (USP) to your direct and indirect competitors.
• Show a clear and realistic plan for product and brand differentiation.
• Look for specific advantages and barriers in the competitive landscape. Then, highlight how that information could impact your business.
• Outline growth opportunities from a competitive perspective.
• Add customer feedback and insights to support your competitive analysis.

4. Target Audience

Use this section to describe who your customer segments are in detail. What is the demographic and psychographic information of your audience?

If your immediate answer is "everyone," you'll need to dig deeper. Here are some questions I’d ask myself here:

• What demographics will most likely need/buy your product or service?
• What are the psychographics of this audience? (Desires, triggering events, etc.)
• Why are your offerings valuable to them?

I’d also recommend building a buyer persona to get in the mindset of your ideal customers and be clear on why you're targeting them.

Target Audience Business Plan Example

I like the example below because it uses in-depth research to draw conclusions about audience priorities. It also analyzes how to create the right content for this audience.

Tips for Writing Your Target Audience Section

• Include details on the size and growth potential of your target audience.
• Figure out and refine the pain points for your target audience , then show why your product is a useful solution.
• Describe your targeted customer acquisition strategy in detail.
• Share anticipated challenges your business may face in acquiring customers and how you plan to address them.
• Add case studies, testimonials, and other data to support your target audience ideas.
• Remember to consider niche audiences and segments of your target audience in your business plan.

5. Marketing Strategy

Here, you'll discuss how you'll acquire new customers with your marketing strategy. I’d suggest including information:

• Your brand positioning vision and how you'll cultivate it
• The goal targets you aim to achieve
• The metrics you'll use to measure success
• The channels and distribution tactics you'll use

I think it’s helpful to have a marketing plan built out in advance to make this part of your business plan easier.

Marketing Strategy Business Plan Example

This business plan example includes the marketing strategy for the town of Gawler.

In my opinion, it really works because it offers a comprehensive picture of how they plan to use digital marketing to promote the community.

Tips for Writing Your Marketing Strategy

• Include a section about how you believe your brand vision will appeal to customers.
• Add the budget and resources you'll need to put your plan in place.
• Outline strategies for specific marketing segments.
• Connect strategies to earlier sections like target audience and competitive analysis.
• Review how your marketing strategy will scale with the growth of your business.
• Cover a range of channels and tactics to highlight your ability to adapt your plan in the face of change.

6. Key Features and Benefits

At some point in your business plan, you'll need to review the key features and benefits of your products and/or services.

Laying these out can give readers an idea of how you're positioning yourself in the market and the messaging you're likely to use. It can even help them gain better insight into your business model.

Key Features and Benefits Business Plan Example

In my opinion, the example below does a great job outlining products and services for this business, along with why these qualities will attract the audience.

Tips for Writing Your Key Features and Benefits

• Emphasize why and how your product or service offers value to customers.
• Use metrics and testimonials to support the ideas in this section.
• Talk about how your products and services have the potential to scale.
• Think about including a product roadmap.
• Focus on customer needs, and how the features and benefits you are sharing meet those needs.
• Offer proof of concept for your ideas, like case studies or pilot program feedback.
• Proofread this section carefully, and remove any jargon or complex language.

7. Pricing and Revenue

This is where you'll discuss your cost structure and various revenue streams. Your pricing strategy must be solid enough to turn a profit while staying competitive in the industry. 

For this reason, here’s what I’d might outline in this section:

• The specific pricing breakdowns per product or service
• Why your pricing is higher or lower than your competition's
• (If higher) Why customers would be willing to pay more
• (If lower) How you're able to offer your products or services at a lower cost
• When you expect to break even, what margins do you expect, etc?

Pricing and Revenue Business Plan Example

I like how this business plan example begins with an overview of the business revenue model, then shows proposed pricing for key products.

Tips for Writing Your Pricing and Revenue Section

• Get specific about your pricing strategy. Specifically, how you connect that strategy to customer needs and product value.
• If you are asking a premium price, share unique features or innovations that justify that price point.
• Show how you plan to communicate pricing to customers.
• Create an overview of every revenue stream for your business and how each stream adds to your business model as a whole.
• Share plans to develop new revenue streams in the future.
• Show how and whether pricing will vary by customer segment and how pricing aligns with marketing strategies.
• Restate your value proposition and explain how it aligns with your revenue model.

8. Financials

To me, this section is particularly informative for investors and leadership teams to figure out funding strategies, investment opportunities, and more.

 According to Forbes , you'll want to include three main things:

• Profit/Loss Statement - This answers the question of whether your business is currently profitable.
• Cash Flow Statement - This details exactly how much cash is incoming and outgoing to give insight into how much cash a business has on hand.
• Balance Sheet - This outlines assets, liabilities, and equity, which gives insight into how much a business is worth.

While some business plans might include more or less information, these are the key details I’d include in this section.

Financials Business Plan Example

This balance sheet is a great example of level of detail you’ll need to include in the financials section of your business plan.

Tips for Writing Your Financials Section

• Growth potential is important in this section too. Using your data, create a forecast of financial performance in the next three to five years.
• Include any data that supports your projections to assure investors of the credibility of your proposal.
• Add a break-even analysis to show that your business plan is financially practical. This information can also help you pivot quickly as your business grows.
• Consider adding a section that reviews potential risks and how sensitive your plan is to changes in the market.
• Triple-check all financial information in your plan for accuracy.
• Show how any proposed funding needs align with your plans for growth.

As you create your business plan, keep in mind that each of these sections will be formatted differently. Some may be in paragraph format, while others could be charts or graphs.

The formats above apply to most types of business plans. That said, the format and structure of your plan will vary by your goals for that plan. 

So, I’ve added a quick review of different business plan types. For a more detailed overview, check out this post .

1. Startups

Startup business plans are for proposing new business ideas.

If you’re planning to start a small business, preparing a business plan is crucial. The plan should include all the major factors of your business.

You can check out this guide for more detailed business plan inspiration .

2. Feasibility Studies

Feasibility business plans focus on that business's product or service. Feasibility plans are sometimes added to startup business plans. They can also be a new business plan for an already thriving organization.

3. Internal Use

You can use internal business plans to share goals, strategies, or performance updates with stakeholders. In my opinion, internal business plans are useful for alignment and building support for ambitious goals.

4. Strategic Initiatives

Another business plan that's often for sharing internally is a strategic business plan. This plan covers long-term business objectives that might not have been included in the startup business plan.

5. Business Acquisition or Repositioning

When a business is moving forward with an acquisition or repositioning, it may need extra structure and support. These types of business plans expand on a company's acquisition or repositioning strategy.

Growth sometimes just happens as a business continues operations. But more often, a business needs to create a structure with specific targets to meet set goals for expansion. This business plan type can help a business focus on short-term growth goals and align resources with those goals.

Now that you know what's included and how to format a business plan, let's review some of my favorite templates.

1. HubSpot's One-Page Business Plan

Download a free, editable one-page business plan template..

The business plan linked above was created here at HubSpot and is perfect for businesses of any size — no matter how many strategies we still have to develop.

Fields such as Company Description, Required Funding, and Implementation Timeline give this one-page business plan a framework for how to build your brand and what tasks to keep track of as you grow.

Then, as the business matures, you can expand on your original business plan with a new iteration of the above document.

Why I Like It

This one-page business plan is a fantastic choice for the new business owner who doesn’t have the time or resources to draft a full-blown business plan. It includes all the essential sections in an accessible, bullet-point-friendly format. That way, you can get the broad strokes down before honing in on the details.

2. HubSpot's Downloadable Business Plan Template

We also created a business plan template for entrepreneurs.

The template is designed as a guide and checklist for starting your own business. You’ll learn what to include in each section of your business plan and how to do it.

There’s also a list for you to check off when you finish each section of your business plan.

Strong game plans help coaches win games and help businesses rocket to the top of their industries. So if you dedicate the time and effort required to write a workable and convincing business plan, you’ll boost your chances of success and even dominance in your market.

This business plan kit is essential for the budding entrepreneur who needs a more extensive document to share with investors and other stakeholders.

It not only includes sections for your executive summary, product line, market analysis, marketing plan, and sales plan, but it also offers hands-on guidance for filling out those sections.

3. LiveFlow’s Financial Planning Template with built-in automation

This free template from LiveFlow aims to make it easy for businesses to create a financial plan and track their progress on a monthly basis.

The P&L Budget versus Actual format allows users to track their revenue, cost of sales, operating expenses, operating profit margin, net profit, and more.

The summary dashboard aggregates all of the data put into the financial plan sheet and will automatically update when changes are made.

Instead of wasting hours manually importing your data to your spreadsheet, LiveFlow can also help you to automatically connect your accounting and banking data directly to your spreadsheet, so your numbers are always up-to-date.

With the dashboard, you can view your runway, cash balance, burn rate, gross margins, and other metrics. Having a simple way to track everything in one place will make it easier to complete the financials section of your business plan.

This is a fantastic template to track performance and alignment internally and to create a dependable process for documenting financial information across the business. It’s highly versatile and beginner-friendly.

It’s especially useful if you don’t have an accountant on the team. (I always recommend you do, but for new businesses, having one might not be possible.)

4. ThoughtCo’s Sample Business Plan

One of the more financially oriented sample business plans in this list, BPlan’s free business plan template dedicates many of its pages to your business’s financial plan and financial statements.

After filling this business plan out, your company will truly understand its financial health and the steps you need to take to maintain or improve it.

I absolutely love this business plan template because of its ease-of-use and hands-on instructions (in addition to its finance-centric components). If you feel overwhelmed by the thought of writing an entire business plan, consider using this template to help you with the process.

6. Harvard Business Review’s "How to Write a Winning Business Plan"

Most sample business plans teach you what to include in your business plan, but this Harvard Business Review article will take your business plan to the next level — it teaches you the why and how behind writing a business plan.

With the guidance of Stanley Rich and Richard Gumpert, co-authors of " Business Plans That Win: Lessons From the MIT Enterprise Forum ", you'll learn how to write a convincing business plan that emphasizes the market demand for your product or service.

You’ll also learn the financial benefits investors can reap from putting money into your venture rather than trying to sell them on how great your product or service is.

This business plan guide focuses less on the individual parts of a business plan, and more on the overarching goal of writing one. For that reason, it’s one of my favorites to supplement any template you choose to use. Harvard Business Review’s guide is instrumental for both new and seasoned business owners.

7. HubSpot’s Complete Guide to Starting a Business

If you’re an entrepreneur, you know writing a business plan is one of the most challenging first steps to starting a business.

Fortunately, with HubSpot's comprehensive guide to starting a business, you'll learn how to map out all the details by understanding what to include in your business plan and why it’s important to include them. The guide also fleshes out an entire sample business plan for you.

If you need further guidance on starting a business, HubSpot's guide can teach you how to make your business legal, choose and register your business name, and fund your business. It will also give small business tax information and includes marketing, sales, and service tips.

This comprehensive guide will walk you through the process of starting a business, in addition to writing your business plan, with a high level of exactitude and detail. So if you’re in the midst of starting your business, this is an excellent guide for you.

It also offers other resources you might need, such as market analysis templates.

8. Panda Doc’s Free Business Plan Template

PandaDoc’s free business plan template is one of the more detailed and fleshed-out sample business plans on this list. It describes what you should include in each section, so you don't have to come up with everything from scratch.

Once you fill it out, you’ll fully understand your business’ nitty-gritty details and how all of its moving parts should work together to contribute to its success.

This template has two things I love: comprehensiveness and in-depth instructions. Plus, it’s synced with PandaDoc’s e-signature software so that you and other stakeholders can sign it with ease. For that reason, I especially love it for those starting a business with a partner or with a board of directors.

9. Small Business Administration Free Business Plan Template

The Small Business Administration (SBA) offers several free business plan templates that can be used to inspire your own plan.

Before you get started, you can decide what type of business plan you need — a traditional or lean start-up plan.

Then, you can review the format for both of those plans and view examples of what they might look like.

We love both of the SBA’s templates because of their versatility. You can choose between two options and use the existing content in the templates to flesh out your own plan. Plus, if needed, you can get a free business counselor to help you along the way.

I’ve compiled some completed business plan samples to help you get an idea of how to customize a plan for your business.

I chose different types of business plan ideas to expand your imagination. Some are extensive, while others are fairly simple.

Let’s take a look.

1. LiveFlow

One of the major business expenses is marketing. How you handle your marketing reflects your company’s revenue.

I included this business plan to show you how you can ensure your marketing team is aligned with your overall business plan to get results. The plan also shows you how to track even the smallest metrics of your campaigns, like ROI and payback periods instead of just focusing on big metrics like gross and revenue.

Fintech startup, LiveFlow, allows users to sync real-time data from its accounting services, payment platforms, and banks into custom reports. This eliminates the task of pulling reports together manually, saving teams time and helping automate workflows.

"Using this framework over a traditional marketing plan will help you set a profitable marketing strategy taking things like CAC, LTV, Payback period, and P&L into consideration," explains LiveFlow co-founder, Lasse Kalkar .

When it came to including marketing strategy in its business plan, LiveFlow created a separate marketing profit and loss statement (P&L) to track how well the company was doing with its marketing initiatives.

This is a great approach, allowing businesses to focus on where their marketing dollars are making the most impact. Having this information handy will enable you to build out your business plan’s marketing section with confidence. LiveFlow has shared the template here . You can test it for yourself.

2. Lula Body

Sometimes all you need is a solid mission statement and core values to guide you on how to go about everything. You do this by creating a business plan revolving around how to fulfill your statement best.

For example, Patagonia is an eco-friendly company, so their plan discusses how to make the best environmentally friendly products without causing harm.

A good mission statement  should not only resonate with consumers but should also serve as a core value compass for employees as well.

Patagonia has one of the most compelling mission statements I’ve seen:

"Together, let’s prioritise purpose over profit and protect this wondrous planet, our only home."

It reels you in from the start, and the environmentally friendly theme continues throughout the rest of the statement.

This mission goes on to explain that they are out to "Build the best product, cause no unnecessary harm, and use business to protect nature."

Their mission statement is compelling and detailed, with each section outlining how they will accomplish their goal.

4. Vesta Home Automation

This executive summary for a smart home device startup is part of a business plan created by students at Mount Royal University .

While it lacks some of the sleek visuals of the templates above, its executive summary does a great job of demonstrating how invested they are in the business.

Right away, they mention they’ve invested $200,000 into the company already, which shows investors they have skin in the game and aren’t just looking for someone else to foot the bill.

This is the kind of business plan you need when applying for business funds. It clearly illustrates the expected future of the company and how the business has been coming along over the years.

5. NALB Creative Center

This fictional business plan for an art supply store includes everything one might need in a business plan: an executive summary, a company summary, a list of services, a market analysis summary, and more.

One of its most notable sections is its market analysis summary, which includes an overview of the population growth in the business’ target geographical area, as well as a breakdown of the types of potential customers they expect to welcome at the store. 

This sort of granular insight is essential for understanding and communicating your business’s growth potential. Plus, it lays a strong foundation for creating relevant and useful buyer personas .

It’s essential to keep this information up-to-date as your market and target buyer changes. For that reason, you should carry out market research as often as possible to ensure that you’re targeting the correct audience and sharing accurate information with your investors.

Due to its comprehensiveness, it’s an excellent example to follow if you’re opening a brick-and-mortar store and need to get external funding to start your business .

6. Curriculum Companion Suites (CSS)

If you’re looking for a SaaS business plan example, look no further than this business plan for a fictional educational software company called Curriculum Companion Suites. 

Like the business plan for the NALB Creative Center, it includes plenty of information for prospective investors and other key stakeholders in the business.

One of the most notable features of this business plan is the executive summary, which includes an overview of the product, market, and mission.

The first two are essential for software companies because the product offering is so often at the forefront of the company’s strategy. Without that information being immediately available to investors and executives, then you risk writing an unfocused business plan.

It’s essential to front-load your company’s mission if it explains your "Why?" and this example does just that. In other words, why do you do what you do, and why should stakeholders care? This is an important section to include if you feel that your mission will drive interest in the business and its offerings.

7. Culina Sample Business Plan

Culina's sample business plan is an excellent example of how to lay out your business plan so that it flows naturally, engages readers, and provides the critical information investors and stakeholders need. 

You can use this template as a guide while you're gathering important information for your own business plan. You'll have a better understanding of the data and research you need to do since Culina’s plan outlines these details so flawlessly for inspiration.

8. Plum Sample Business Plan

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550+ Business Plan Examples to Launch Your Business

Need help writing your business plan? Explore over 550 industry-specific business plan examples for inspiration.

Find your business plan example

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Business plan template: There's an easier way to get your business plan done.

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View all sample business plans

Example business plan format

Before you start exploring our library of business plan examples, it's worth taking the time to understand the traditional business plan format . You'll find that the plans in this library and most investor-approved business plans will include the following sections:

Executive summary

The executive summary is an overview of your business and your plans. It comes first in your plan and is ideally only one to two pages. You should also plan to write this section last after you've written your full business plan.

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, and your funding requirements (if you are raising money).

Products & services

The products & services chapter of your business plan is where the real meat of your plan lives. It includes information about the problem that you're solving, your solution, and any traction that proves that it truly meets the need you identified.

This is your chance to explain why you're in business and that people care about what you offer. It needs to go beyond a simple product or service description and get to the heart of why your business works and benefits your customers.

Market analysis

Conducting a market analysis ensures that you fully understand the market that you're entering and who you'll be selling to. This section is where you will showcase all of the information about your potential customers. You'll cover your target market as well as information about the growth of your market and your industry. Focus on outlining why the market you're entering is viable and creating a realistic persona for your ideal customer base.

Competition

Part of defining your opportunity is determining what your competitive advantage may be. To do this effectively you need to get to know your competitors just as well as your target customers. Every business will have competition, if you don't then you're either in a very young industry or there's a good reason no one is pursuing this specific venture.

To succeed, you want to be sure you know who your competitors are, how they operate, necessary financial benchmarks, and how you're business will be positioned. Start by identifying who your competitors are or will be during your market research. Then leverage competitive analysis tools like the competitive matrix and positioning map to solidify where your business stands in relation to the competition.

Marketing & sales

The marketing and sales plan section of your business plan details how you plan to reach your target market segments. You'll address how you plan on selling to those target markets, what your pricing plan is, and what types of activities and partnerships you need to make your business a success.

The operations section covers the day-to-day workflows for your business to deliver your product or service. What's included here fully depends on the type of business. Typically you can expect to add details on your business location, sourcing and fulfillment, use of technology, and any partnerships or agreements that are in place.

Milestones & metrics

The milestones section is where you lay out strategic milestones to reach your business goals.

A good milestone clearly lays out the parameters of the task at hand and sets expectations for its execution. You'll want to include a description of the task, a proposed due date, who is responsible, and eventually a budget that's attached. You don't need extensive project planning in this section, just key milestones that you want to hit and when you plan to hit them.

You should also discuss key metrics, which are the numbers you will track to determine your success. Some common data points worth tracking include conversion rates, customer acquisition costs, profit, etc.

Company & team

Use this section to describe your current team and who you need to hire. If you intend to pursue funding, you'll need to highlight the relevant experience of your team members. Basically, this is where you prove that this is the right team to successfully start and grow the business. You will also need to provide a quick overview of your legal structure and history if you're already up and running.

Financial projections

Your financial plan should include a sales and revenue forecast, profit and loss statement, cash flow statement, and a balance sheet. You may not have established financials of any kind at this stage. Not to worry, rather than getting all of the details ironed out, focus on making projections and strategic forecasts for your business. You can always update your financial statements as you begin operations and start bringing in actual accounting data.

Now, if you intend to pitch to investors or submit a loan application, you'll also need a "use of funds" report in this section. This outlines how you intend to leverage any funding for your business and how much you're looking to acquire. Like the rest of your financials, this can always be updated later on.

The appendix isn't a required element of your business plan. However, it is a useful place to add any charts, tables, definitions, legal notes, or other critical information that supports your plan. These are often lengthier or out-of-place information that simply didn't work naturally into the structure of your plan. You'll notice that in these business plan examples, the appendix mainly includes extended financial statements.

Types of business plans explained

While all business plans cover similar categories, the style and function fully depend on how you intend to use your plan. To get the most out of your plan, it's best to find a format that suits your needs. 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 for external purposes. Typically this is the type of plan you'll need when applying for funding or pitching to investors. It can also be used when training or hiring employees, working with vendors, or in any other situation where the full details of your business must be understood by another individual.

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.

The structure ditches a linear format in favor of a cell-based template. It encourages you to build connections between every element of your business. It's faster to write out and update, and much easier for you, your team, and anyone else to visualize your business operations.

One-page business plan

The true middle ground between the business model canvas and a traditional business plan is the one-page business plan . This format is a simplified version of the traditional plan that focuses on the core aspects of your business.

By starting with a one-page plan , you give yourself a minimal document to build from. You'll typically stick with bullet points and single sentences making it much easier to elaborate or expand sections into a longer-form business plan.

Growth planning

Growth planning is more than a specific type of business plan. It's 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, forecast, review, and refine based on your performance.

It holds all of the benefits of the single-page plan, including the potential to complete it in as little as 27 minutes . However, it's even easier to convert into a more detailed plan thanks to how heavily it's tied to your financials. The overall goal of growth planning isn't to just produce documents that you use once and shelve. Instead, the growth planning process helps you build a healthier company that thrives in times of growth and remain stable through times of crisis.

It's faster, keeps your plan concise, and ensures that your plan is always up-to-date.

Download a free sample business plan template

Ready to start writing your own plan but aren't sure where to start? Download our free business plan template that's been updated for 2024.

This simple, modern, investor-approved business plan template is designed to make planning easy. It's a proven format that has helped over 1 million businesses write business plans for bank loans, funding pitches, business expansion, and even business sales. It includes additional instructions for how to write each section and is formatted to be SBA-lender approved. All you need to do is fill in the blanks.

How to use an example business plan to help you write your own

How do you know what elements need to be included in your business plan, especially if you've never written one before? Looking at examples can help you visualize what a full, traditional plan looks like, so you know what you're aiming for before you get started. Here's how to get the most out of a sample business plan.

Choose a business plan example from a similar type of company

You don't need to find an example business plan that's an exact fit for your business. Your business location, target market, and even your particular product or service may not match up exactly with the plans in our gallery. But, you don't need an exact match for it to be helpful. Instead, look for a plan that's related to the type of business you're starting.

For example, if you want to start a vegetarian restaurant, a plan for a steakhouse can be a great match. While the specifics of your actual startup will differ, the elements you'd want to include in your restaurant's business plan are likely to be very similar.

Use a business plan example as a guide

Every startup and small business is unique, so you'll want to avoid copying an example business plan word for word. It just won't be as helpful, since each business is unique. You want your plan to be a useful tool for starting a business —and getting funding if you need it.

One of the key benefits of writing a business plan is simply going through the process. When you sit down to write, you'll naturally think through important pieces, like your startup costs, your target market , and any market analysis or research you'll need to do to be successful.

You'll also look at where you stand among your competition (and everyone has competition), and lay out your goals and the milestones you'll need to meet. Looking at an example business plan's financials section can be helpful because you can see what should be included, but take them with a grain of salt. Don't assume that financial projections for a sample company will fit your own small business.

If you're looking for more resources to help you get started, our business planning guide is a good place to start. You can also download our free business plan template .

Think of business planning as a process, instead of a document

Think about business planning as something you do often , rather than a document you create once and never look at again. If you take the time to write a plan that really fits your own company, it will be a better, more useful tool to grow your business. It should also make it easier to share your vision and strategy so everyone on your team is on the same page.

Adjust your plan regularly to use it as a business management tool

Keep in mind that businesses that use their plan as a management tool to help run their business grow 30 percent faster than those businesses that don't. For that to be true for your company, you'll think of a part of your business planning process as tracking your actual results against your financial forecast on a regular basis.

If things are going well, your plan will help you think about how you can re-invest in your business. If you find that you're not meeting goals, you might need to adjust your budgets or your sales forecast. Either way, tracking your progress compared to your plan can help you adjust quickly when you identify challenges and opportunities—it's one of the most powerful things you can do to grow your business.

Prepare to pitch your business

If you're planning to pitch your business to investors or seek out any funding, you'll need a pitch deck to accompany your business plan. A pitch deck is designed to inform people about your business. You want your pitch deck to be short and easy to follow, so it's best to keep your presentation under 20 slides.

Your pitch deck and pitch presentation are likely some of the first things that an investor will see to learn more about your company. So, you need to be informative and pique their interest. Luckily, just like you can leverage an example business plan template to write your plan, we also have a gallery of over 50 pitch decks for you to reference.

With this gallery, you have the option to view specific industry pitches or get inspired by real-world pitch deck examples.

Ready to get started?

Now that you know how to use an example business plan to help you write a plan for your business, it's time to find the right one.

Use the search bar below to get started and find the right match for your business idea.

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Business Capital: Definition and Where to Get It

Many or all of the products featured here are from our partners who compensate us. This influences which products we write about and where and how the product appears on a page. However, this does not influence our evaluations. Our opinions are our own. Here is a list of our partners and here's how we make money .

Business capital, or small-business capital, commonly refers to lump sums of money that come from external sources and are used to fund business purchases, operations or growth. These sources can include small-business loans , as well as free funding like small-business grants .

The right type of business capital for you depends on how established your business is, as well as other factors like your funding purpose and how fast you need it.

How much do you need?

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We’ll start with a brief questionnaire to better understand the unique needs of your business.

Once we uncover your personalized matches, our team will consult you on the process moving forward.

What is business capital?

Technically speaking, business capital is anything that generates value for your business. That can include financial capital like cash, human capital like employees and personnel or physical capital like real estate and intellectual property.

Business capital, or small-business capital, can also simply refer to external financing, or lump sums your business attains to fund operations or large purchases.

Types of business capital

There are several types of business capital that you can use to fund your business at various stages.

Debt funding

With debt funding — taking out a small-business loan — you borrow money from a third party and repay it, with interest, over a specific period of time. Debt funding can be a good option for a variety of small businesses, especially established companies looking to grow their operations.

Business term loans

With a business term loan , you receive a lump sum of capital upfront from a lender. You then repay the loan, with interest, over a set period of time — usually with fixed, equal payments.

Business term loans are well-suited for specific funding purposes, such as purchasing real estate or renovating your storefront. Some loans, like equipment financing , are designed to accommodate specific business purchases.

You can get business term loans from banks, credit unions and online lenders . Banks and credit unions will offer term loans with the most competitive rates and terms, but you’ll need to meet strict criteria to qualify. Online lenders are typically more flexible and may work with startups or businesses with bad credit. These companies will often charge higher interest rates.

» MORE: Compare the best banks for business loans

SBA loans are partially guaranteed by the U.S. Small Business Administration and issued by participating lenders, typically banks and credit unions. There are several types of SBA loans , but generally, these products are structured as term loans.

These loans usually have low interest rates and long repayment terms and can be used for a range of purposes, such as working capital, equipment purchases and business expansions.

This type of government funding can be a good option if you’re an established business with good credit but you can’t qualify for a bank loan.

>> MORE: Top SBA lenders

Business lines of credit

A business line of credit is one of the most flexible types of business capital — making it well-suited to meet the working capital needs of new and established companies alike.

With a business line of credit, you can draw from a set limit of funds and pay interest on only the money you borrow. After you repay, you can draw from the line as needed. Lines of credit are often used to manage cash flow, buy inventory, cover payroll or serve as an emergency fund.

Like term loans, business lines of credit are available from traditional and online lenders. Traditional lenders typically offer credit lines with the lowest rates but require an excellent credit history and several years in business to qualify.

Online lenders, on the other hand, may charge higher interest rates but generally work with a wider range of businesses. Some online lenders offer startup business lines of credit and/or options for borrowers with fair credit.

Business credit cards

Business credit cards work similarly to personal credit cards, although business cards typically offer rewards for spending on operational expenses, such as gas, internet, software purchases and more.

Business credit cards can be a good option for startups because they offer quick access to capital and most entrepreneurs with good personal credit can qualify. You may not want to completely fund your business with a credit card , however, because overspending can lead to expensive debt that’s difficult to repay.

In general, business credit cards can be useful for all types of entrepreneurs because they allow you to earn rewards (e.g., cash back, miles, points) for everyday spending on your business purchases. Responsible spending on a credit card can also help you establish business credit, which will allow you to qualify for more competitive loan products.

»MORE: Debt vs. equity financing

Equity funding

With equity funding , you receive money from an investor in exchange for partial ownership of your company. If you’re a startup that can’t qualify for a business loan or you want to avoid debt, equity funding may be a suitable option for your needs.

Angel investors and venture capital firms

Angel investors and venture capital firms are common forms of equity financing that involve receiving money in exchange for equity in your company.

With angel investors , you work with individuals who invest their money into your business. These individuals often invest in startups with high growth potential. In addition to the equity they receive, your angel investor may offer business expertise to help your company progress.

A venture capital firm, on the other hand, will be an individual or group that invests from a pool of money. VCs may require a higher amount of equity in your company as well as some operational control, such as a seat on the board of directors. Compared to angel investors, VCs tend to offer larger amounts of money and invest in businesses that are a little more established.

You can find angel investors and venture capitalists through organizations like the Angel Capital Association or the National Venture Capital Association . You can also search online for investors in your area as well as attend industry events and talk to other business owners.

Either of these startup funding options may be a good option for your business if you’re looking to avoid debt. Finding and receiving capital may take time, however, and some businesses may not be able to meet the requirements set out by an angel investor or venture capital firm.

Crowdfunding

With crowdfunding your business , you raise money online through public donations in exchange for equity or rewards, such as an exclusive product or early access to an event.

You can set up a campaign using a crowdfunding platform, which allows you to manage the process through the platform’s website.

With equity crowdfunding , you can use platforms like Fundable, StartEngine and Netcapital to receive capital in exchange for ownership of your business. For rewards-based crowdfunding , you can turn to well-known websites like Kickstarter or Indiegogo .

Crowdfunding can be well-suited for a range of businesses as long as they’re dedicated to managing and promoting a campaign. Rewards-based crowdfunding is usually a better option for small amounts of capital, especially for businesses with a unique product or service.

Equity crowdfunding, on the other hand, may give you access to larger funding amounts, but you may have to meet stricter eligibility requirements to use one of these crowdfunding platforms.

» MORE: How to fund your business idea

Free business capital

On top of these main sources of external financing, entrepreneurs can access free small-business capital through grants. Grants do not have to be repaid and are available from government agencies, corporations and nonprofits.

Small-business grants are available for new and existing businesses. You can get a business grant from a few sources:

Federal and state governments. Government agencies offer a range of small-business grants, including those designed for companies that focus on scientific research and technology innovation. Grants.gov provides a comprehensive list of business grants available from the federal government.

Private corporations. Many corporations offer annual small-business grant programs or competitions, such as the FedEx Small Business Grant Contest . In many cases, you have to meet specific criteria to qualify for one of these grants.

Nonprofits. Certain nonprofits offer grants designed for small-business owners. Among these organizations, some focus on providing business grants for women or business grants for minority groups .

Business grants are a good option for startups as well as companies that can’t qualify for other types of small-business capital. Because grants give you access to free capital, however, applications are competitive — and often time-consuming.

Bootstrapping

In addition to the previous external financing sources, many small-business owners also bootstrap, or self-fund, their business venture. Options for bootstrapping your business include using personal savings or tapping into their retirement account through a Rollover as Business Startup , or ROBS.

Looking for a business loan?

See our overall favorites, or narrow it down by category to find the best options for you.

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How to get business capital

The right funding option is different for every small-business owner. And the best type of funding for you now might not be the best choice to meet your needs later.

Consider why you need business capital. Your funding purpose is a key component of which type of business capital is best for you, and how much money you need. Plus, any potential lender or funder will likely ask for this information. 

Decide which type of funding is best for your business. Before you start researching, think about which type of business capital is best for you. Consider if you would rather take on debt or give up business equity, how fast you need access to funding and your current resources and qualifications. 

Research lenders or funders. Once you’ve decided which type of capital your business needs, you can begin researching providers — either lenders, investors or funding platforms — to determine the best options. 

Gather documents. It may vary based on your capital provider, but generally you’ll need documents like your business plan, filing information and financial information like profit and loss statements, tax returns or bank statements. 

How you get small-business capital depends on why you need capital and how long you’ve been in business. Startups may consider self-funding, working with angel investors or applying for grants. Businesses with at least a year in operation and solid finances, likely have more options, such as SBA funding and other types of business loans.

Capital in business generally refers to anything the business uses to generate value, including finances, physical assets, human resources and more. It can also refer to external sources of financing, like loans or grants.

If you need money to get your business off the ground, you’ll likely have difficulty qualifying for traditional funding, like a term loan or line of credit. Instead, you might turn to alternative sources, such as friends and family, crowdfunding, small-business grants or angel investors for the startup capital you need.

On a similar note...

10 Cool Tech Companies That Raised Funding In March 2024

Funding for IT startups remains tight, continuing a slowdown that began in early 2022. But some startups with bold business plans and game-changing technologies are winning big investment deals. Here’s a look at 10 companies that successfully raised new funding in March.

Venture capital investments for IT startups remain in the slump that began in early 2022. Global venture capital investments in the January-March quarter fell to $75.9 billion – a nearly five-year low – according to PitchBook statistics cited in a Reuters story .

And yet some startups are bucking the trend and announcing significant funding rounds, some in the nine figures, as seen in our Follow the Money monthly roundup.

Prior to the funding slump businesses with game-changing cybersecurity and big data products were the most popular investments for the Sand Hill Road crowd. That continued to be the case in March, although any startup with “artificial intelligence” or “generative AI” in its name or business plan is also very popular.

Topping the list for March was Axonius, a cybersecurity asset management technology developer, which raised $200 million in a Series E funding round. Other cybersecurity companies with impressive funding rounds included Claroty, Coro Cybersecurity and Nozomi Networks – all with $100-million funding infusions.

Observe, which develops a platform for storing, managing and analyzing machine-generated data for a range of applications, was No. 2 on the March list with a $115-million Series B funding round.

Big data tech developers Ocient, Unstructured and Dymium were among the companies collecting significant financing in March.

Here’s a look at 10 companies that raised funding in March 2024.

Headquarters: New York

CEO: Dean Sysman

Funding: A $200 million Series E funding round at a $2.6 billion valuation.

Investors: The round was led by Accel and Lightspeed Venture Partners with participation from existing investor Stripes.

What company does: Axonius provides cybersecurity asset management technology.

CEO Quote: “We have customers of every size, every industry, every region. And what we're realizing is that the problem we're solving is very universal. Every organization needs it. It's a very foundational thing of every security and IT program. Today we have about 630 customers. It's very easy to imagine us getting to 6,000 or even 60,000 customers. And that means that we really have the potential to be one of the major software companies of the world.”

Headquarters: San Mateo, Calif.

CEO: Jeremy Burton

Funding: A $115 million Series B funding round.

Investors: The round was led by Sutter Hill Ventures with participation from existing investors Capital One Ventures and Madrona and new investor Snowflake Ventures.

What company does: The Observe platform is used to store, manage and analyze machine-generated data.

CEO Quote: “We had a great year last year. Our fiscal year 2024 ended at the end of January. We almost tripled revenue, and we’re seeing great net revenue retention, which is a measure of how sticky the product is. So we feel very good about our growth. For the coming year, I think a big chunk of that money is going to go towards expanding the sales teams. Not just sales reps, but technical people to support sales, and folks who can help with customer implementations.”

CEO: Yaniv Vardi

Funding: $100 million in strategic growth funding that brings Claroty’s total funding to $735 million.

Investors: Participants included lead equity investor Delta-v Capital, as well as AB Private Credit Investors at AllianceBernstein, Standard Investments, Toshiba Digital Solutions, SE Ventures, Rockwell Automation, and Silicon Valley Bank, a division of First Citizens Bank.

What company does: Calroty’s CPS security system is used by organizations to secure cyber-physical systems across industrial, healthcare, commercial and public sector environments.

CEO Quote: “The past year has brought unprecedented geopolitical, macroeconomic, and regulatory changes that have created new trends and challenges for those charged with protecting the world’s critical infrastructure. With our deep domain expertise, unmatched technological capabilities in our comprehensive platform, and extensive partner ecosystem, Claroty is uniquely equipped to help CPS defenders navigate these changes.”

Coro Cybersecurity

CEO: Guy Moskowitz

Funding: The $100 million Series D funding round brought the company’s total funding to $255 million in the last 24 months.

Investors: The round was led by One Peak with participation from existing investors Energy Impact Partners and Balderton Capital.

What company does: Coro develops a cybersecurity platform that’s purpose-built for small and mid-size business and organizations. The software includes endpoint protection, email and user protection, and network and cloud protection capabilities.

CEO Quote: “We are a channel-first company — 70 percent of our revenue comes from the channel. We expect that to grow dramatically in 2024 and 2025.”

Nozomi Networks

Headquarters: San Francisco

CEO: Edgard Capdevielle

Funding: A $100 million Series E funding round.

Investors: New investors Mitsubishi Electric and Schneider Electric participated in the round along with previous investors Activate Capital, Energize Capital, Forward Investments, GGV Capital U.S., Honeywell Ventures, In-Q-Tel, Johnson Controls, Keysight Technologies, Lux Capital, Planven Investments SA, Samsung, Porsche Ventures, Telefónica Ventures, and Triangle Peak Partners.

What company does: Nozomi Networks develops security products for IoT and operational technology (OT) networks.

CEO Quote: “As we meet with customers around the world, the reality is that they operate highly heterogeneous environments and are looking for a security platform that can effectively defend those environments. This investment clearly underscores the need and support for OEM-agnostic security solutions in light of today’s escalating attacks against critical infrastructure around the world.”

Headquarters: Denver

CEO: John Nellen

Funding: A $50 million Series B funding round.

Investors: The round was led by Base 10 Partners with participation from Anthos Capital, Tech Operators and StoneMill Ventures.

What company does: Todyl’s security platform for small and mid-size businesses incorporates SASE, endpoint security, SIEM, MXDR, SOAR and GRC into a cloud-first, single-agent platform.

CEO Quote: “Small and medium businesses are facing sophisticated cyber threats at an unprecedented frequency. The cost and complexity have kept the capabilities required to defend against ever-changing tactics and adversaries in the hands of large enterprises. Our revolutionary, cloud-first platform levels the playing field for businesses of all sizes. We purpose-built our platform to utilize a single agent that delivers the capabilities of multiple point solutions.”

Headquarters: Chicago

CEO: Chris Gladwin

Funding: The $49.4 million funding is an extension of Ocient’s Series B financing.

Investors: The Series B round was previously led by Greycroft and OCA Ventures and included new venture investors Buoyant Ventures, Levy Family Partners, Riverwalk Capital, and Wolf Capital Management, as well as all prior major investors.

What company does: Ocient develops data analytics software for compute-intensive analysis of complex, large-scale data.

CEO Quote: “Organizations are being challenged to deliver energy-efficient, hyper-growth data analysis without accelerating costs, which has become increasingly challenging as real-time analytics, SQL, AI/ML, and geospatial workloads typically require more energy consumption. The close of this latest round of financing is an indication that the need for the solutions we bring to market is growing across industries, and geographies.”

Unstructured

CEO: Brian Raymond

Funding: The $40 million Series B round brought Unstructured’s total capital raised to $65 million.

Investors: The round was led by Menlo Ventures with participation from Databricks Ventures, IBM Ventures, Sacramento Kings Chairman Vivek Ranadive, DataStax CEO Chet Kapoor, Allison Pickens of the New Normal Fund, and Nvidia’s venture capital arm NVentures, along with existing investors Madrona, Bain Capital Ventures (BCV), and Mango Capital.

What company does: Unstructured develops technology for data ingestion and pre-processing for large language models.

CEO Quote: “A critical bottleneck to realizing the emerging value of LLMs is the ability to ingest and preprocess any human-generated data into an LLM-ready format. 2024 will be the year of moving LLM prototypes into production and organizations of all types and sizes are hungry to build out these architectures efficiently and at scale. Automating the process of structuring data and seamlessly delivering it into storage is critical for enterprises that want to build solutions on this new tech stack and go to market quickly.”

BlueFlag Security

Headquarters: Sunnyvale, Calif.

CEO: Raj Mallempati

Funding: BlueFlag Security emerge from stealth with a $11.5 million seed funding round.

Investors: The funding was led by Maverick Ventures and Ten Eleven Ventures with participation from Pier 88 Investment Partners.

What company does: BlueFlag Security has developed a software development lifecycle (SDLC) security and governance platform for identity-centric protection through the software development process.

CEO Quote: “Our mission is to provide developers with a clean, trustworthy environment. The BlueFlag platform doesn’t just add another layer of protection; it introduces a fundamentally different philosophy that places identity security at the heart of SDLC security and governance.”

Headquarters: Los Gatos, Calif.

CEO: Denzil Wessels

Funding: The company exited stealth with $7 million in funding.

Investors: The funding was led by Two Bear Capital with $5 million and an additional $2 million from angel investors.

What company does: Dymium has developed a data access management platform that provides secure access to data “where it lives.”

CEO Quote: “The practice of copying data to provide teams with data in myriad formats, each with different access controls, policies, and security requirements, has led to unprecedented complexity that impedes innovation and undermines security and governance. Dymium eliminates the need to make copies of the data, allowing you to secure data where it lives. It provides greater agility and secure access to a single version of the truth using a zero trust architecture, centralized access policies, and real-time data transformation services.”

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Best life insurance companies in 2024

Bankrate’s in-depth analysis identified MassMutual, Northwestern Mutual and State Farm as some of the best life insurance companies.

• • Auto insurance
• • Homeowners insurance

Shannon Martin is a licensed insurance agent and Bankrate analyst with over 15 years of experience in the industry. She enjoys helping others navigate the insurance world by cutting through complex jargon and empowering readers to make strong financial decisions independently.

• • Life insurance

Natasha Cornelius, CLU, is an insurance editor for Bankrate, specializing in auto, home and life insurance.

Mark Friedlander is director of corporate communications at III, a nonprofit organization focused on providing consumers with a better understanding of insurance.

On This Page

Top life insurance companies

• How Bankrate picked the best life insurance companies

Compare the best life insurance companies

What is life insurance, what does life insurance cover.

• How to choose the best life insurance policy

How much does life insurance cost?

Types of life insurance policies, frequently asked questions.

Life insurance should fit your needs, whether you need top-notch customer service, short-term coverage or high limits. Here are Bankrate's picks for the best life insurance companies based on various financial and consumer needs.

• Guardian: Best for life insurance coverage without a medical exam
• MassMutual: Best for whole life insurance
• Mutual of Omaha: Best for digital accessibility
• Nationwide: Best for customer satisfaction
• Northwestern Mutual: Best for universal life insurance
• Prudential: Best for policy personalization
• State Farm: Best for term life insurance

Embarking on the journey to secure life insurance is a profound step towards protecting the financial well-being of your loved ones. Throughout the array of life insurance offerings, each company offers a variety of policy options, each with unique features and benefits. Amidst this diversity, the challenge lies in discerning which policy resonates the closest with your life’s needs. Bankrate emerges as your compass in this expedition, grounded in rigorous analysis and a commitment to clarity. With a keen eye on the pulse of the industry, we've sifted through the multitude of life insurance providers, evaluating them against a spectrum of criteria from customer satisfaction and financial robustness to the richness of policy options and the embrace of digital innovation. Our mission is clear: to empower you with insights that illuminate your path to a life insurance choice that not only meets your needs but uplifts your spirit, ensuring tranquility in the knowledge that your loved ones' future is protected.

Compare life insurance providers quickly and easily

See which provider is right for you.

Whole life insurance combines life insurance with an investment component.

• Coverage for life
• Tax-deferred savings benefit if premiums are paid
• 3 variations of permanent insurance: whole life, universal life and variable life include investment component

Term life insurance is precisely what the name implies: an insurance policy that is good for a specific term of time.

• Fixed premium over term
• No savings benefits
• Outliving policy or policy cancellation results in no money back

How Bankrate picked the best life insurance companies for 2024

To find the best life insurance companies, Bankrate’s editorial team started by researching the largest life insurance carriers on the market. We analyzed life insurance company ratings,  including customer satisfaction scores and financial strength ratings from trusted, unbiased sources, including J.D. Power and AM Best . We also assessed ratings based on market share from the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC).

Methodology

Shopping for life insurance can be intimidating, but Bankrate is here to make the process easier. When studying the largest life insurance carriers, there are some metrics that you can rely on to help effectively compare your options. Does one company offer a wide range of life insurance policy types, as well as riders to personalize your policy, compared to another? What does the qualification process look like, and what might your estimated life insurance premium be?

From there, you can also compare companies’ financial strength ratings and customer service scores from trusted third-party agencies, such as AM Best and J.D. Power , for an unbiased view of which providers may excel in these areas and give you the best experience.

Life insurance coverage without a medical exam

The Guardian Life Insurance Company of America ranks well in customer satisfaction and financial strength and offers the most term life insurance riders on our list. According to the NAIC , the company also has fewer than baseline policyholder complaints and offers multiple no-medical exam policy options.

Guardian provides easy policy management through its network of more than 3,000 financial representatives across the nation and online account management. Guardian carries an A++ (Superior) financial strength rating from A.M. Best and offers multiple coverage options depending on your life stage, goals, needs and budget.

Dividends available on some policies

Easy online management

Policies available for HIV-positive applicants

Multiple no-medical exam policy options

Must purchase coverage through an agent

Rider details limited online

Whole life insurance

MassMutual won Bankrate’s 2024 Award for best whole life insurance thanks to its A++ (Superior) financial strength rating from AM Best and for offering 13 whole life insurance riders, the most of any company we analyzed. This is the third year in a row MassMutual has secured this honor.

MassMutual, also known as Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Co., is a U.S. life insurance company owned by its policyholders, allowing select policyholders to earn dividends when the company does well. MassMutual offers an online application process for term life policies. Coverage takes effect immediately upon application approval, and applicants must usually complete medical exams for all term and universal life policies.

Free coverage for qualifying low-income families

Convenient mobile app

Numerous riders

Superior financial strength

High coverage capacity (the maximum dollar amount of a policy’s death benefit)

Limited online quotes

Medical exams required for term and universal life policies

No final expense policies

Mutual of Omaha

Digital accessibility

Mutual of Omaha ranked just behind the overall winners of Bankrate’s best life insurance study. The company ranks well above average in J.D. Power’s customer satisfaction survey and earned a financial strength rating of A+ (Superior) from AM Best. Mutual of Omaha offers no-medical-exam life insurance options, and its digital features could make managing your life insurance policy easy.

Some people may be looking for the best online life insurance experience. In terms of accessibility, Mutual of Omaha offers a robust digital app, an online portal, local insurance agents and a 24/7 phone line for accepting your payments.

Easy online quote process

Offers digital money management app

High J.D. Power customer satisfaction score

Does not provide dividends

Not all life insurance can be quoted online

Customer satisfaction

Nationwide offers a user-friendly mobile app, streamlined online portal and a network of independent agents across the U.S. Combine those features with an above-average J.D. Power customer satisfaction rating, and Nationwide could be a great choice for customer satisfaction.

The multi-line insurer offers seven riders for universal life, the second-highest number of riders of any company on our list. Nationwide also received an A+ (Superior) financial strength rating from AM Best, making it possibly one of the best life insurance companies in the marketplace in terms of third-party ratings.

No-medical exam options available for universal, whole and term life insurance programs, depending on eligibility

Above-average J.D. Power customer service score

Plentiful rider options

Policy acceptance not guaranteed

No 24/7 help line

Northwestern Mutual

Customer service

Northwestern Mutual won the 2023 Bankrate Award for Best Universal Life Insurance Company due to its high financial strength rating, highly-rated customer satisfaction and available financial planning services. Northwestern Mutual sells coverage through agents, which could be a good fit for those who prefer face-to-face interactions over a digital purchase process.

Earning an A++ (Superior) financial strength rating from AM Best, Northwestern Mutual shows a strong history of being able to pay claims. As a mutual company, it is owned by its policyholders. Northwestern Mutual offers a variety of term, whole and universal life insurance policies. Because universal life coverage is flexible, you may be contacting your agent more often. Northwestern Mutual ranks highly in Bankrate’s internal study of accessibility for providing a mobile app, online portal, local agents and a 24/7 customer service phone line that accepts premium payments.

Dividends available on whole life insurance policies

Flexible policy options

Wide range of riders

Easy-to-use online portal and mobile app

Must buy coverage through an agent

Limited information available online

Policy personalization

Prudential is the fifth-largest U.S. life insurer based on market share rankings from the Insurance Information Institute (Triple-I). In our study, Prudential Financial ranked just behind our overall best life insurance company winners in customer satisfaction and accessibility. It offers plentiful rider options, easy-to-use online tools and live agent support.

The company has nine universal life insurance riders — more than any other carrier on our list. It offers a variety of term life and universal life insurance policies, giving customers a greater level of flexibility than some of its competitors. However, keep in mind that Prudential does not offer whole life insurance or no-medical-exam policy options.

Live agent support available

Online tools

Variety of term and universal life policies

Medical history required for quotes

Selective policy options

Below-average J.D. Power customer satisfaction score

Term life insurance

State Farm is a three-time Bankrate Award winner for Best Term Life Insurer in 2022, 2023 and 2024, thanks to its top-notch customer service and accessibility tools. As one of the top life insurance companies, State Farm also received the highest customer satisfaction score from J.D. Power.

State Farm boasts a 24/7 customer helpline, an easy-to-use mobile app and online portal and more than 19,000 exclusive local agents across the U.S. With an A++ (Superior) rating from AM Best, State Farm has a history of financial stability, as well. The carrier offers a variety of term life insurance options, plus whole, universal and variable universal options.

Numerous policy and rider options

No medical exams required for some policies

Highest J.D. Power customer satisfaction rating

$10,000 maximum for final expenses insurance

Age-dependent exam plans

Can only purchase from an agent; no online option

Life insurance serves as a cornerstone of financial security for your loved ones, offering a beacon of support in the wake of your passing. It operates on a simple premise: in return for regular premiums, the life insurance company commits to providing a death benefit —a sum of money designed to ease the financial burdens that may arise. This benefit is not just a monetary gesture; it's a shield against the immediate financial implications of loss, covering essential costs from funeral expenses to outstanding medical bills.

What sets life insurance apart is the unique advantage that the death benefit is generally paid out tax-free and avoids the probate process. This means that your beneficiaries can access the full intended amount more swiftly and without the deduction of taxes. They have the flexibility to use these funds however they wish—be it clearing debts, investing in educational futures or managing daily expenses.

Furthermore, certain policies offer the flexibility of disbursing funds under specific circumstances during your lifetime, such as following the diagnosis of a serious illness or reaching a milestone age, adding a layer of versatility to the financial protection life insurance can provide.

Life insurance covers the financial risk associated with the policyholder's death. Depending on the type of policy, the life insurance payout usually provides a death benefit for payment toward funeral expenses and final medical bills. It can also be used as income replacement for the policyholder’s family. Usually, life insurance covers a range of causes of death, but there can also be some exclusions.

Here are some causes of death covered by life insurance:

• Accidental deaths , such as car accidents and unforeseen injuries, are typically covered.
• Natural causes of death , such as old age, diseases and illness, are usually covered.
• Death from terminal illness is covered; in addition, when a policyholder is diagnosed, some life insurance policies may allow the policyholder to access the funds while they are still alive.
• Suicide , if it occurs after the contestability period, may be covered.

What does life insurance not cover?

There are exceptions and exclusions where some causes of death do not afford coverage. Here are a few examples:

• Criminal activities are a common exclusion, so if a policyholder dies while doing something illegal, the insurance company may deny the claim.
• Hazardous activities , such as skydiving, extreme sports or other high-risk activities are common exclusions in life insurance policies.
• Material misrepresentation is when a policyholder lies or withholds information from an insurance company to secure a policy. If this is discovered, the insurance company has grounds to void the policy or deny the claim.
• Suicide is not covered by life insurance if it occurs within the contestability period, which is usually two or three years from the start of the policy. However, death by suicide may be covered after this timeframe, but it will depend on the insurance provider.  

How to choose the best life insurance company

When you are ready to buy life insurance , taking a few extra steps can ensure you find the best policy based on your wants and needs. Here are some things to look for when choosing the best life insurance company for you:

• Ask for recommendations: Your friends and family may have life insurance with a company they love. You may want to ask them about their experiences with customer service at these companies.
• Review customer satisfaction ratings: You can visit the J.D. Power website or check the carrier reviews in this article to review each insurance company’s customer satisfaction ratings. J.D. Power assigns each company a score out of 1,000 possible points.
• Assess financial stability: We recommend looking at a company’s financial strength rating from a third-party agency such as AM Best, Standard & Poor’s (S&P) or Moody’s. A company with a low financial stability rating may have a poor history of being able to meet financial obligations and may struggle to pay life insurance death benefits to policyholders if a high volume of claims are filed simultaneously. It is important to have the assurance that your insurer has a history of strong financial stability.
• Look at customer reviews: Dozens of consumer-oriented sites such as Google, Yelp and Consumer Affairs provide reviews from insurance companies’ customers. It may be most helpful to ignore the outlier reviews and focus on the overall average instead. What did the average customer say about the company you are considering? Are the items they complained about important to you? For example, if someone complained that the company does not offer a mobile app, but a mobile app is unimportant for your needs, you may not need to consider that review in your assessment.
• Get multiple life insurance quotes: It can be beneficial to compare life insurance quotes from multiple carriers to help you find the best cheap life insurance policy. Keep in mind that prices will vary more widely for different policy types, although additional policy features could be another cost-influencing factor.
• Seek professional counsel: While a life insurance calculator can be useful, you may be better able to determine your needs by talking with a financial advisor or a licensed life insurance agent if you have more complex needs or questions. A life insurance agent can help you decide what type of life insurance coverage is right for you and how much life insurance you need. When choosing between the many types of life insurance, it may help to get a second opinion from a professional.

You may notice that we don’t include average rates in our analysis. That’s because rates vary widely based on each policyholder’s age and health metrics, as well as the type of policy they choose, their death benefit level and any riders they add on. Life insurance companies don’t reveal average rates, since that information reflects the general health of its policyholders and could put privacy at risk.

Life insurance rates are incredibly personal, so average rates aren’t a helpful metric when choosing a company. Generally, insurance experts recommend that you choose a life insurance company based on the specific product you need, rather than the rate. That said, the premium will vary between providers. Comparison shopping life insurance companies can help you find coverage that works for your family at a price that fits your budget.

How much life insurance do I need?

The appropriate level of life insurance is different for everyone. Insurance experts recommend enough coverage to pay off any outstanding obligations the loss of your income might leave behind. Typical debts include mortgages, car loans, credit card debt, student loans, medical bills and funeral expenses. If you have a family with young children, consider future financial needs you may want to plan for.

For policyholders unable to afford typical life insurance, burial insurance may be a more cost-effective option. This type of policy would provide coverage for final expenses related to your funeral, such as cremation costs, a burial plot, flowers, etc. Coverage is usually available between $5,000 and $25,000 with a lower premium and fewer underwriting restrictions than standard life insurance.

Bankrate’s take: Finding life insurance can be challenging if you have declining health or pre-existing conditions , but options are still available. Many employers offer group insurance to employees, which typically does not require a medical exam or individual underwriting. If this is not an option, guaranteed life insurance plans are another avenue worth exploring. While they can be costly, your medical status is not a qualifier for coverage.

There are many types of life insurance policies , but they all fall under two categories: term life insurance, which is only in force for a set time, and permanent life insurance, which is in effect as long as premiums are paid in most circumstances. Permanent life insurance comes with a cash value component. Depending on your individual needs and preferences , having one or both of these types of policies could be an integral part of your financial plan.

With a term life insurance policy , you and the life insurance company enter into a contract for a specified death benefit amount for a set number of years. Unlike permanent life insurance, a term life insurance doesn’t have the savings-life component or investment potential, and because it’s only active for a set number of years, it’s possible to outlive your policy and receive no benefits. However, you may be able to convert it into a permanent life policy at the end of your term.

Permanent life insurance

In contrast to term coverage, permanent life insurance stays in place for your entire life, as long as you pay the premiums. There are many types of permanent coverage, but the two main forms are whole and universal.

A form of permanent life insurance, whole life insurance usually comes with set premiums and a cash value account. While you may not be able to change the policy after it is active, having the cash value component can be useful, although the money accumulates relatively slowly.

Universal life insurance

Another form of permanent life insurance, universal life insurance is known for its flexibility. The premium and death benefit can be adjusted as needs or lifestyles change. It also has a cash value component and can come with different investment strategies to help you grow the value of the policy.

Bankrate’s take: The premiums paid toward a permanent life insurance policy are portioned into three groups: the insurance company's cost and profits, the death benefit payout and lastly, the policy's growing cash value. Policyholders can access the cash value of the policy when needed by making a withdrawal, loan or canceling the policy in full. When money is withdrawn or the policyholder cancels the policy during the surrender period, most companies initiate a surrender fee, typically around 10 percent of the contributed funds. The surrender period varies between providers and can last up to 15 years.

How does life insurance work?

When you purchase a life insurance policy, you are making an agreement with an insurance company to make regular payments toward continued coverage with the policy. You will also choose a beneficiary , which could be a person or organization, that the insurance company will pay once you pass away. To access the funds, your beneficiary would have to file a claim with the company, who will then process it before making the payment.

Do I need life insurance?

Who can i name as my beneficiary.

Typically, you have the flexibility to nominate virtually anyone or any organization as your life insurance beneficiary, provided there's an insurable interest . This means that to purchase a life insurance policy on another individual and name oneself as the beneficiary, one must demonstrate that the insured's passing would result in a financial setback. This principle is crucial in the context of life insurance as it helps prevent potential moral hazards.

This is straightforward in cases involving immediate family members but can get more complex with non-relatives or business partnerships. When considering someone outside your immediate family circle or a trust as a beneficiary, it may be beneficial to consult with a financial advisor or insurance professional to ensure the choice aligns with your overall financial strategy and complies with state laws.

What’s the best age to buy life insurance?

Can i use my life insurance while still living.

It depends. If you want to use your life insurance while you’re still alive, you must purchase a policy with living benefits . One living benefit is built into some permanent life insurance policies in the form of a cash value account. If, over time, the cash value account of your permanent policy has accrued enough money, you may be able to use it to pay for your life insurance premium or to borrow against.

Depending on the company, living benefits riders may also be available. One popular living benefit is the accelerated death benefit rider, allowing you to access a portion of your death benefit if you are diagnosed with a terminal illness or disability. Another common choice is the long-term care benefits rider, which may be available on permanent policies and allows the policyholder to use some of their death benefits to pay for a nursing home.

You may want to speak with a licensed professional if you’d like to purchase a life insurance policy with living benefits. A professional can help tailor a life insurance policy for your specific financial goals. 

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A Roadmap for Responsible Business Conduct

Three years ago, a Dalit woman was murdered by her supervisor at a garment factory in India. Her co-workers did not wait for the company to respond. They organized collectively and engaged major global fashion companies, developing an enforceable agreement between the buying companies, the factories and their trade union to identify, remedy and prevent gender-based violence and harassment in their workplaces.

Known as the Dindigul agreement , the initiative established independent monitoring entities and trained female shop floor monitors with special retaliation protections to take immediate action on cases of gender-based violence and harassment. The agreement ensured that there were trusted and reliable grievance mechanisms in place. It also held companies accountable to resolving issues and providing workers access to remedy.

By 2026, companies are projected to spend over $27 billion a year on voluntary social audits to report on labor abuses in their supply chains. Yet, no audit would have stopped the tragedy in India. And in 2013, the Rana Plaza factory collapsed in Bangladesh , killing over 1,100 workers – days after an audit found no problems in the building. Voluntary third-party audits have all too often shown their limitations.

We believe businesses can and must do better. That’s why we’ve released the Responsible Business Conduct and Labor Rights InfoHub , a one-stop shop for information, guidance and tools from the U.S. government and international organizations to support the private sector in integrating labor rights and responsible business practices in their operations and across their global supply chains.

This comes as part of the U.S. government’s second National Action Plan on Responsible Business Conduct, founded on the Biden-Harris administration’s bedrock belief that businesses can have success while doing good, and that governments should create the conditions for responsible business conduct to take place.

The InfoHub provides companies with the knowledge and tools they need to comply with federal statutes, agency rules and trade provisions around responsible business and labor rights. It also makes government reports and advisories easily accessible, so businesses can stay up to date on emerging risks in priority sectors.

The site complements existing due diligence tools the Bureau of International Labor Affairs has created, such as Comply Chain and our List of Goods Produced by Child Labor or Forced Labor . The InfoHub also builds upon ILAB’s commitment to amplifying worker voice as a critical component of worker-centered due diligence.

We urge all stakeholders — from civil society to the C-suite — to use these resources, tools and legal standards to engage in meaningful action, strengthen their due diligence and ensure workers in their supply chains can exercise their internationally recognized rights without fear of retaliation.

We are entering a new era of corporate compliance, one where binding commitments to support worker voice, as we see in the Dindigul agreement, emerge as powerful and viable tools. The businesses at the top of global supply chains have the power to make these agreements widespread and effective and to ensure that workers are at the center of these new processes and institutions. This requires not just standing up new processes to map and track impacts within supply chains, but on concrete, positive outcomes for workers. It requires not just setting up hotlines, apps or suggestion boxes for workers but respecting their rights to organize and bargain collectively.

Through the Responsible Business Conduct and Labor Rights InfoHub and other resources, the U.S. Department of Labor is providing companies with the tools to chart a path forward on meaningful due diligence and bolster the rights and protections of all workers.

Thea Lee is the deputy undersecretary for international affairs at the U.S. Department of Labor. Follow ILAB on X/Twitter at @ILAB_DOL and on LinkedIn .

• Bureau of International Labor Affairs (ILAB)
• supply chains
• labor rights
• Responsible Business Conduct

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Fortune 100 Best Companies to Work For

Finding a best company to work for seems an elusive task for disillusioned young and older employees alike. Any employer worth its salt has recognized and responded to the shifting demands of the workforce in order to hold on to top talent. Like any youthful type, Gen Z is reckoning with working for “the man,” but our 27th edition of the Best Companies to Work For list, published with our partners at Great Place to Work, shows an emerging corporate equivalent of “the man in therapy.” Helping employees find meaning in their jobs, many of these best companies offer wellness benefits and a commitment to their workforce looking as diverse as the nation’s population. In practice, creating a more empathetic workplace looks like staying loyal to workers, emphasizing the needs of individuals with diversity and inclusion initiatives, and, naturally, paying employees well. 

• 2 Cisco Systems
• 4 American Express
• 5 Synchrony Financial
• 6 Wegmans Food Markets
• 7 Accenture
• 8 Marriott International
• 9 Cadence Design Systems
• 10 Comcast NBCUniversal

• CAISO Releases Ambitious 2023-2024 Transmission Plan To Address State’s Climate Goals

California Independent System Operator (CAISO) released its draft 2023-2024 Transmission Plan (the 2023-2024 Plan) on April 1, 2024. As expected, the 2023-2024 Plan incorporates projections for significant new generation of renewable energy and plans for major new transmission projects to carry the additional energy. In total, the 2023-2024 Plan identifies 26 new transmission projects, estimated at a cost of $6.1 billion. The 2023-2024 Plan prioritizes offshore wind for the state’s energy transition, with a substantial amount of the proposed transmission upgrades correlating with the offshore wind generation potential off the North Coast. The 2023-2024 Plan should catalyze investment in both new transmission and new generation within transmission priority areas. 

CAISO manages most of the high-voltage, long-distance power lines that comprise the backbone of California’s electrical transmission grid. As part of that function, CAISO performs annual transmission planning to ensure that sufficient transmission capacity exists to carry power into and within the state. CAISO identifies the need for transmission projects based on three categories: reliability, public policy, and economic necessity. Transmission plans, after approval by CAISO’s board of governors in May of a given year, serve as the basis for developers to bid on the need for regional transmission facilities as part of a competitive solicitation procedure.

California’s climate goals play a substantial role in CAISO’s transmission planning process. Chief among state policies is SB 100, which updated the state’s renewable portfolio standard to ensure that at least 60% of California’s power is derived from renewable sources by 2030 and set a goal of 100% renewable sources for all retail electricity by 2045. To achieve these milestones, in 2022, the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC), the California Energy Commission (CEC), and CAISO executed a memorandum of understanding to better reconcile processes for transmission planning and siting and permitting for new generation sources, with priority given to projects within identified transmission zones. [1] Year over year, the trendline in transmission plans shows that CAISO, CPUC, and CEC are working toward development of substantial new sources of renewable energy and the transmission projects to accommodate the new generation.   

Rapid Escalation in Renewables Growth and New Transmission Projects Needs

CAISO’s latest plan incorporates CPUC data to project that California will need to add an average of 7,000 megawatts (MW) of generating capacity annually during the 10-year planning forecast. To put this into perspective, the 2020-2021 transmission plan forecasted approximately 1,000 MW total over its 10-year horizon. While SB 100 is driving the push to develop new sources of renewable power, CAISO also references increasing demand due to electrification of certain industries (including transportation), challenges in accessing imported power from neighboring balancing authorities, and the retirement of gas-fired plans as factors in its projections. [2]

To accommodate these new renewable generation projects, CAISO identifies the need for 26 new transmission projects within various transmission planning zones. The transmission planning zones, which are key to identifying priority interconnection areas, are identified below in Figure ES-2. These include reliability-driven and policy-driven projects. [3]

• Reliability-driven projects. These projects are needed to address load growth and evolving grid conditions.  Fourteen of the reliability-driven projects are within Pacific Gas and Electric Company’s (PG&E) service territory, four are in SCE’s territory, and one is in San Diego Gas & Electric’s (SDG&E) territory. [4]
• Policy-driven projects. Policy-driven projects are necessary to meet policy goals independent of load growth or grid conditions. CAISO identifies seven policy-driven projects, which collectively will require more than $4.5 billion in investment. The two most significant projects in the plan are in this category. They include a new 500 kilovolt (kV) substation in Humboldt with an approximately 260-mile-long high-voltage direct current (HVDC) line (to be initially operated as 500kv AC) to interconnect the Humboldt substation with a new substation planned in Collinsville (Solano County), and an approximately 140-mile long 500 kv AC line to interconnect the new Humboldt substation to the Fern Road substation in Shasta County. [5] These two projects are eligible for competitive solicitation through CAISO’s tariff. CAISO is expected to provide a schedule for the competitive solicitation process in May 2024. [6]

Offshore Wind Is a Key Driver of CAISO’s Transmission Planning

While the 2023-2024 Plan identifies various sources of renewables, including distributed solar, onshore wind, geothermal, battery storage, and imported power, offshore wind underlies projections for the plan’s most significant projects. CAISO notes that “significant amounts of new offshore wind generating capacity and the associated transmission upgrades are required to cost-effectively bring reliable decarbonized power to California consumers and industry across all seasons of the year.” [7] The 2023-2024 Plan evaluates transmission needs for 13.4 GW of power generated from offshore wind sources spread across the Central Coast and North Coast. [8] The major upgrades described above are focused on the Humboldt area given that CAISO projects the North Coast offshore projects will generate more than 8 GW of power, and the area currently lacks a bulk substation and associated transmission.  

Key Takeaways

• The 2023-2024 Plan aligns with the state’s lofty climate goals. SB 100 (and SB 350 before it) challenged the state to significantly modify the electrical grid to meet climate goals. The 2023-2024 Plan is aggressive, because it must be if the state is to come anywhere near the goal of 60% renewable power by 2030 and 100% renewable power by 2045.
• Offshore wind is essential for the state to meet its renewables goals. As CAISO notes, offshore wind is critical to cost-effectively deliver energy from renewable sources throughout the year. [9] Major transmission upgrades are needed to capitalize on this resource.
• An eye toward competitive solicitation procedures. Transmission developers will need to stay tuned for CAISO’s release of schedules and related information for the two competitive projects.
• Transmission planning zones should be reviewed in detail. Developers will need to review final approved transmission planning zones to identify opportunities subject to interconnection priority.

[1] See https://www.caiso.com/Documents/ISO-CEC-and-CPUC-Memorandum-of-Understanding-Dec-2022.pdf .

[2] 2023-2024 Plan, § 1.1.

[3] Note that while CAISO evaluates economic-driven projects as part of transmission planning, the 2023-2024 Plan did not identify any economic-driven projects for the planning cycle. (See 2023-2024 Plan, § 4.9.).

[4] 2023-2024 Plan, Table ES-1 (Reliability-Driven Projects Recommended for Approval).

[5] 2023-2024 Plan, § 3.5.1.

[6] 2023-2024 Plan, § 8.5.

[7] 2023-2024 Plan, Executive Summary.

[8] 2023 -2024 Plan, § 3.1.

[9] 2023-2024 Plan, Executive Summary (“[S]ignificant amounts of new offshore wind generating capacity and the associated transmission upgrades are required to cost-effectively bring reliable decarbonized power to California consumers and industry across all seasons of the year.”).

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DISCLAIMER: Because of the generality of this update, the information provided herein may not be applicable in all situations and should not be acted upon without specific legal advice based on particular situations.

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