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IT Company Business Plan: Everything You Need to Know

An IT company business plan is a detailed plan for running and developing an information technology company. 3 min read updated on February 01, 2023

An IT company business plan is a detailed plan for running and developing an information technology company. It should describe all aspects of the business, including the company's description, product description, marketing strategy, and financial analysis, in a clear and precise manner.

Tips for Writing a Great Business Plan

A business plan should set out a clear roadmap for developing and expanding your business. Keep the following points in mind while writing a business plan:

• Test your idea. Avoid the temptation of jumping into a business merely on the basis of the success stories of others. Discuss your idea with prospective customers, vendors, and other people in the industry.
• Study the market to get an idea of industry trends, underlying challenges, and scope of future growth.
• Share your business plan with your employees. It is not something to be kept confidential.
• Write it in a clear and concise manner. Be specific, and cover all areas of the business.
• Put the plan to use; simply filing it away will not serve any purpose. Refer to it whenever possible.
• Revisit and revise your plan as your business grows.

Sections of a Business Plan

A typical business plan includes the following sections:

• Executive summary.
• Description of the company.
• Market research.
• Product or service description.
• Management structure.
• Sales and marketing strategy.
• Financial Analysis.

Benefits of Writing a Business Plan

Writing down your business plan offers the following benefits, among others:

• You get to understand your business better.
• It increases the chances of your business's success.
• It makes it easier to raise capital for a startup.
• Businesses with a written plan grow at a higher rate than those without any written plan.

Steps to Writing a Startup Business Plan

1. Have a Clear Objective

• Make sure that the company description is not ambiguous. The company description can also include your business's mission statement.
• State the reason for choosing that specific business. For example, you might be prompted to open a restaurant because no other restaurants in your area serve the cuisine your restaurant specializes in.
• Discuss the vision and growth prospects of your business in brief.

The summary should be concise and should not exceed four paragraphs.

2. Identify Your Target Market

Narrow down your target market based on geography, demography, psychology, and behavior. Your final target market may look like the following:

• Ages 20 to 35
• Living in the New York area
• With an annual income of $50,000-$60,000
• Who are interested in recycling and sustainable living

3. Analyze the Competition

Perform a competition analysis and differentiate your product accordingly. Price and quality can be two important differentiating factors. You should analyze the competition while simultaneously identifying your target market since both these steps are a part of the market research section of your business plan.

4. Prepare a Budget

Estimate the amount of funds you will need to start and operate the business. Many startups fail due to lack of funds. Preparing a budget beforehand will reduce this risk. When calculating your budget, consider all possible expenses, including the following:

• Cost of equipment.
• Money required for buying or leasing property.
• Legal fees.
• Employees' salaries.
• Insurance premiums.
• Inventory cost.

5. Make Financial Projections

Prepare financial projections based on the size of your target market and your expected market share. Include the expansion strategy in your projections. Keep your projections reasonable and make sure you cover three to five years of operations.

6. Define Your Business Structure

Define the organizational structure of your business. Having a clear hierarchy of power removes unnecessary doubt and debates over jobs and reporting positions. However, avoid adding too many layers in your business structure since that may create confusion and make the communication inefficient.

7. Prepare a Marketing Plan

A well-balanced marketing plan should include a strategy for customer acquisition in line with your target market, budget, and financial projections.

Some of the basic ideas for a marketing plan include the following:

• Launching a website.
• Being active on social media.
• Building a subscribers' list.
• Setting up loyalty programs.

8. Keep It Short and Simple

Although your business plan should be detailed and thorough, make it a point to keep it short and simple. Write it professionally and avoid using jargon. Proofread the plan for grammar, readability, and confusion.

If you need help with IT company business plan, you can post your legal need on UpCounsel's marketplace. UpCounsel accepts only the top 5 percent of lawyers to its site. Lawyers on UpCounsel come from law schools such as Harvard Law and Yale Law and average 14 years of legal experience, including work with or on behalf of companies like Google, Menlo Ventures, and Airbnb.

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Content Approved by UpCounsel

• Creating a Business Plan
• Sample of a Good Business Plan
• Service Business Plan
• Business Plan for Existing Company
• Business Plan for New Company
• Do I Need a Business Plan
• Parts of Business Plan and Definition
• LLC Business Plan Template
• Business Plan Contents Page
• Business Description Outline

Step-by-Step Guide to Writing a Simple Business Plan

By Joe Weller | October 11, 2021

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A business plan is the cornerstone of any successful company, regardless of size or industry. This step-by-step guide provides information on writing a business plan for organizations at any stage, complete with free templates and expert advice. 

Included on this page, you’ll find a step-by-step guide to writing a business plan and a chart to identify which type of business plan you should write . Plus, find information on how a business plan can help grow a business and expert tips on writing one .

What Is a Business Plan?

A business plan is a document that communicates a company’s goals and ambitions, along with the timeline, finances, and methods needed to achieve them. Additionally, it may include a mission statement and details about the specific products or services offered.

A business plan can highlight varying time periods, depending on the stage of your company and its goals. That said, a typical business plan will include the following benchmarks:

• Product goals and deadlines for each month
• Monthly financials for the first two years
• Profit and loss statements for the first three to five years
• Balance sheet projections for the first three to five years

Startups, entrepreneurs, and small businesses all create business plans to use as a guide as their new company progresses. Larger organizations may also create (and update) a business plan to keep high-level goals, financials, and timelines in check.

While you certainly need to have a formalized outline of your business’s goals and finances, creating a business plan can also help you determine a company’s viability, its profitability (including when it will first turn a profit), and how much money you will need from investors. In turn, a business plan has functional value as well: Not only does outlining goals help keep you accountable on a timeline, it can also attract investors in and of itself and, therefore, act as an effective strategy for growth.

For more information, visit our comprehensive guide to writing a strategic plan or download free strategic plan templates . This page focuses on for-profit business plans, but you can read our article with nonprofit business plan templates .

Business Plan Steps

The specific information in your business plan will vary, depending on the needs and goals of your venture, but a typical plan includes the following ordered elements:

• Executive summary
• Description of business
• Market analysis
• Competitive analysis
• Description of organizational management
• Description of product or services
• Marketing plan
• Sales strategy
• Funding details (or request for funding)
• Financial projections

If your plan is particularly long or complicated, consider adding a table of contents or an appendix for reference. For an in-depth description of each step listed above, read “ How to Write a Business Plan Step by Step ” below.

Broadly speaking, your audience includes anyone with a vested interest in your organization. They can include potential and existing investors, as well as customers, internal team members, suppliers, and vendors.

Do I Need a Simple or Detailed Plan?

Your business’s stage and intended audience dictates the level of detail your plan needs. Corporations require a thorough business plan — up to 100 pages. Small businesses or startups should have a concise plan focusing on financials and strategy.

How to Choose the Right Plan for Your Business

In order to identify which type of business plan you need to create, ask: “What do we want the plan to do?” Identify function first, and form will follow.

Use the chart below as a guide for what type of business plan to create:

Is the Order of Your Business Plan Important?

There is no set order for a business plan, with the exception of the executive summary, which should always come first. Beyond that, simply ensure that you organize the plan in a way that makes sense and flows naturally.

The Difference Between Traditional and Lean Business Plans

A traditional business plan follows the standard structure — because these plans encourage detail, they tend to require more work upfront and can run dozens of pages. A Lean business plan is less common and focuses on summarizing critical points for each section. These plans take much less work and typically run one page in length.

In general, you should use a traditional model for a legacy company, a large company, or any business that does not adhere to Lean (or another Agile method ). Use Lean if you expect the company to pivot quickly or if you already employ a Lean strategy with other business operations. Additionally, a Lean business plan can suffice if the document is for internal use only. Stick to a traditional version for investors, as they may be more sensitive to sudden changes or a high degree of built-in flexibility in the plan.

How to Write a Business Plan Step by Step

Writing a strong business plan requires research and attention to detail for each section. Below, you’ll find a 10-step guide to researching and defining each element in the plan.

Step 1: Executive Summary

The executive summary will always be the first section of your business plan. The goal is to answer the following questions:

• What is the vision and mission of the company?
• What are the company’s short- and long-term goals?

See our  roundup of executive summary examples and templates for samples. Read our executive summary guide to learn more about writing one.

Step 2: Description of Business

The goal of this section is to define the realm, scope, and intent of your venture. To do so, answer the following questions as clearly and concisely as possible:

• What business are we in?
• What does our business do?

Step 3: Market Analysis

In this section, provide evidence that you have surveyed and understand the current marketplace, and that your product or service satisfies a niche in the market. To do so, answer these questions:

• Who is our customer? 
• What does that customer value?

Step 4: Competitive Analysis

In many cases, a business plan proposes not a brand-new (or even market-disrupting) venture, but a more competitive version — whether via features, pricing, integrations, etc. — than what is currently available. In this section, answer the following questions to show that your product or service stands to outpace competitors:

• Who is the competition? 
• What do they do best? 
• What is our unique value proposition?

Step 5: Description of Organizational Management

In this section, write an overview of the team members and other key personnel who are integral to success. List roles and responsibilities, and if possible, note the hierarchy or team structure.

Step 6: Description of Products or Services

In this section, clearly define your product or service, as well as all the effort and resources that go into producing it. The strength of your product largely defines the success of your business, so it’s imperative that you take time to test and refine the product before launching into marketing, sales, or funding details.

Questions to answer in this section are as follows:

• What is the product or service?
• How do we produce it, and what resources are necessary for production?

Step 7: Marketing Plan

In this section, define the marketing strategy for your product or service. This doesn’t need to be as fleshed out as a full marketing plan , but it should answer basic questions, such as the following:

• Who is the target market (if different from existing customer base)?
• What channels will you use to reach your target market?
• What resources does your marketing strategy require, and do you have access to them?
• If possible, do you have a rough estimate of timeline and budget?
• How will you measure success?

Step 8: Sales Plan

Write an overview of the sales strategy, including the priorities of each cycle, steps to achieve these goals, and metrics for success. For the purposes of a business plan, this section does not need to be a comprehensive, in-depth sales plan , but can simply outline the high-level objectives and strategies of your sales efforts. 

Start by answering the following questions:

• What is the sales strategy?
• What are the tools and tactics you will use to achieve your goals?
• What are the potential obstacles, and how will you overcome them?
• What is the timeline for sales and turning a profit?
• What are the metrics of success?

Step 9: Funding Details (or Request for Funding)

This section is one of the most critical parts of your business plan, particularly if you are sharing it with investors. You do not need to provide a full financial plan, but you should be able to answer the following questions:

• How much capital do you currently have? How much capital do you need?
• How will you grow the team (onboarding, team structure, training and development)?
• What are your physical needs and constraints (space, equipment, etc.)?

Step 10: Financial Projections

Apart from the fundraising analysis, investors like to see thought-out financial projections for the future. As discussed earlier, depending on the scope and stage of your business, this could be anywhere from one to five years. 

While these projections won’t be exact — and will need to be somewhat flexible — you should be able to gauge the following:

• How and when will the company first generate a profit?
• How will the company maintain profit thereafter?

Business Plan Template

Download Business Plan Template

Microsoft Excel | Smartsheet

This basic business plan template has space for all the traditional elements: an executive summary, product or service details, target audience, marketing and sales strategies, etc. In the finances sections, input your baseline numbers, and the template will automatically calculate projections for sales forecasting, financial statements, and more.

For templates tailored to more specific needs, visit this business plan template roundup or download a fill-in-the-blank business plan template to make things easy. 

If you are looking for a particular template by file type, visit our pages dedicated exclusively to Microsoft Excel , Microsoft Word , and Adobe PDF business plan templates.

How to Write a Simple Business Plan

A simple business plan is a streamlined, lightweight version of the large, traditional model. As opposed to a one-page business plan , which communicates high-level information for quick overviews (such as a stakeholder presentation), a simple business plan can exceed one page.

Below are the steps for creating a generic simple business plan, which are reflected in the template below .

• Write the Executive Summary This section is the same as in the traditional business plan — simply offer an overview of what’s in the business plan, the prospect or core offering, and the short- and long-term goals of the company. 
• Add a Company Overview Document the larger company mission and vision. 
• Provide the Problem and Solution In straightforward terms, define the problem you are attempting to solve with your product or service and how your company will attempt to do it. Think of this section as the gap in the market you are attempting to close.
• Identify the Target Market Who is your company (and its products or services) attempting to reach? If possible, briefly define your buyer personas .
• Write About the Competition In this section, demonstrate your knowledge of the market by listing the current competitors and outlining your competitive advantage.
• Describe Your Product or Service Offerings Get down to brass tacks and define your product or service. What exactly are you selling?
• Outline Your Marketing Tactics Without getting into too much detail, describe your planned marketing initiatives.
• Add a Timeline and the Metrics You Will Use to Measure Success Offer a rough timeline, including milestones and key performance indicators (KPIs) that you will use to measure your progress.
• Include Your Financial Forecasts Write an overview of your financial plan that demonstrates you have done your research and adequate modeling. You can also list key assumptions that go into this forecasting. 
• Identify Your Financing Needs This section is where you will make your funding request. Based on everything in the business plan, list your proposed sources of funding, as well as how you will use it.

Simple Business Plan Template

Download Simple Business Plan Template

Microsoft Excel |  Microsoft Word | Adobe PDF  | Smartsheet

Use this simple business plan template to outline each aspect of your organization, including information about financing and opportunities to seek out further funding. This template is completely customizable to fit the needs of any business, whether it’s a startup or large company.

Read our article offering free simple business plan templates or free 30-60-90-day business plan templates to find more tailored options. You can also explore our collection of one page business templates . 

How to Write a Business Plan for a Lean Startup

A Lean startup business plan is a more Agile approach to a traditional version. The plan focuses more on activities, processes, and relationships (and maintains flexibility in all aspects), rather than on concrete deliverables and timelines.

While there is some overlap between a traditional and a Lean business plan, you can write a Lean plan by following the steps below:

• Add Your Value Proposition Take a streamlined approach to describing your product or service. What is the unique value your startup aims to deliver to customers? Make sure the team is aligned on the core offering and that you can state it in clear, simple language.
• List Your Key Partners List any other businesses you will work with to realize your vision, including external vendors, suppliers, and partners. This section demonstrates that you have thoughtfully considered the resources you can provide internally, identified areas for external assistance, and conducted research to find alternatives.
• Note the Key Activities Describe the key activities of your business, including sourcing, production, marketing, distribution channels, and customer relationships.
• Include Your Key Resources List the critical resources — including personnel, equipment, space, and intellectual property — that will enable you to deliver your unique value.
• Identify Your Customer Relationships and Channels In this section, document how you will reach and build relationships with customers. Provide a high-level map of the customer experience from start to finish, including the spaces in which you will interact with the customer (online, retail, etc.). 
• Detail Your Marketing Channels Describe the marketing methods and communication platforms you will use to identify and nurture your relationships with customers. These could be email, advertising, social media, etc.
• Explain the Cost Structure This section is especially necessary in the early stages of a business. Will you prioritize maximizing value or keeping costs low? List the foundational startup costs and how you will move toward profit over time.
• Share Your Revenue Streams Over time, how will the company make money? Include both the direct product or service purchase, as well as secondary sources of revenue, such as subscriptions, selling advertising space, fundraising, etc.

Lean Business Plan Template for Startups

Download Lean Business Plan Template for Startups

Microsoft Word | Adobe PDF

Startup leaders can use this Lean business plan template to relay the most critical information from a traditional plan. You’ll find all the sections listed above, including spaces for industry and product overviews, cost structure and sources of revenue, and key metrics, and a timeline. The template is completely customizable, so you can edit it to suit the objectives of your Lean startups.

See our wide variety of  startup business plan templates for more options.

How to Write a Business Plan for a Loan

A business plan for a loan, often called a loan proposal , includes many of the same aspects of a traditional business plan, as well as additional financial documents, such as a credit history, a loan request, and a loan repayment plan.

In addition, you may be asked to include personal and business financial statements, a form of collateral, and equity investment information.

Download free financial templates to support your business plan.

Tips for Writing a Business Plan

Outside of including all the key details in your business plan, you have several options to elevate the document for the highest chance of winning funding and other resources. Follow these tips from experts:.

• Keep It Simple: Avner Brodsky , the Co-Founder and CEO of Lezgo Limited, an online marketing company, uses the acronym KISS (keep it short and simple) as a variation on this idea. “The business plan is not a college thesis,” he says. “Just focus on providing the essential information.”
• Do Adequate Research: Michael Dean, the Co-Founder of Pool Research , encourages business leaders to “invest time in research, both internal and external (market, finance, legal etc.). Avoid being overly ambitious or presumptive. Instead, keep everything objective, balanced, and accurate.” Your plan needs to stand on its own, and you must have the data to back up any claims or forecasting you make. As Brodsky explains, “Your business needs to be grounded on the realities of the market in your chosen location. Get the most recent data from authoritative sources so that the figures are vetted by experts and are reliable.”
• Set Clear Goals: Make sure your plan includes clear, time-based goals. “Short-term goals are key to momentum growth and are especially important to identify for new businesses,” advises Dean.
• Know (and Address) Your Weaknesses: “This awareness sets you up to overcome your weak points much quicker than waiting for them to arise,” shares Dean. Brodsky recommends performing a full SWOT analysis to identify your weaknesses, too. “Your business will fare better with self-knowledge, which will help you better define the mission of your business, as well as the strategies you will choose to achieve your objectives,” he adds.
• Seek Peer or Mentor Review: “Ask for feedback on your drafts and for areas to improve,” advises Brodsky. “When your mind is filled with dreams for your business, sometimes it is an outsider who can tell you what you’re missing and will save your business from being a product of whimsy.”

Outside of these more practical tips, the language you use is also important and may make or break your business plan.

Shaun Heng, VP of Operations at Coin Market Cap , gives the following advice on the writing, “Your business plan is your sales pitch to an investor. And as with any sales pitch, you need to strike the right tone and hit a few emotional chords. This is a little tricky in a business plan, because you also need to be formal and matter-of-fact. But you can still impress by weaving in descriptive language and saying things in a more elegant way.

“A great way to do this is by expanding your vocabulary, avoiding word repetition, and using business language. Instead of saying that something ‘will bring in as many customers as possible,’ try saying ‘will garner the largest possible market segment.’ Elevate your writing with precise descriptive words and you'll impress even the busiest investor.”

Additionally, Dean recommends that you “stay consistent and concise by keeping your tone and style steady throughout, and your language clear and precise. Include only what is 100 percent necessary.”

Resources for Writing a Business Plan

While a template provides a great outline of what to include in a business plan, a live document or more robust program can provide additional functionality, visibility, and real-time updates. The U.S. Small Business Association also curates resources for writing a business plan.

Additionally, you can use business plan software to house data, attach documentation, and share information with stakeholders. Popular options include LivePlan, Enloop, BizPlanner, PlanGuru, and iPlanner.

How a Business Plan Helps to Grow Your Business

A business plan — both the exercise of creating one and the document — can grow your business by helping you to refine your product, target audience, sales plan, identify opportunities, secure funding, and build new partnerships. 

Outside of these immediate returns, writing a business plan is a useful exercise in that it forces you to research the market, which prompts you to forge your unique value proposition and identify ways to beat the competition. Doing so will also help you build (and keep you accountable to) attainable financial and product milestones. And down the line, it will serve as a welcome guide as hurdles inevitably arise.

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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.

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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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What is a business plan?

1. write an executive summary, 2. describe your company, 3. state your business goals, 4. describe your products and services, 5. do your market research, 6. outline your marketing and sales plan, 7. perform a business financial analysis, 8. make financial projections, 9. summarize how your company operates, 10. add any additional information to an appendix, business plan tips and resources.

A business plan outlines your business’s financial goals and explains how you’ll achieve them over the next three to five years. Here’s a step-by-step guide to writing a business plan that will offer a strong, detailed road map for your business.

ZenBusiness

A business plan is a document that explains what your business does, how it makes money and who its customers are. Internally, writing a business plan should help you clarify your vision and organize your operations. Externally, you can share it with potential lenders and investors to show them you’re on the right track.

Business plans are living documents; it’s OK for them to change over time. Startups may update their business plans often as they figure out who their customers are and what products and services fit them best. Mature companies might only revisit their business plan every few years. Regardless of your business’s age, brush up this document before you apply for a business loan .

» Need help writing? Learn about the best business plan software .

This is your elevator pitch. It should include a mission statement, a brief description of the products or services your business offers and a broad summary of your financial growth plans.

Though the executive summary is the first thing your investors will read, it can be easier to write it last. That way, you can highlight information you’ve identified while writing other sections that go into more detail.

» MORE: How to write an executive summary in 6 steps

Next up is your company description. This should contain basic information like:

Your business’s registered name.

Address of your business location .

Names of key people in the business. Make sure to highlight unique skills or technical expertise among members of your team.

Your company description should also define your business structure — such as a sole proprietorship, partnership or corporation — and include the percent ownership that each owner has and the extent of each owner’s involvement in the company.

Lastly, write a little about the history of your company and the nature of your business now. This prepares the reader to learn about your goals in the next section.

» MORE: How to write a company overview for a business plan

The third part of a business plan is an objective statement. This section spells out what you’d like to accomplish, both in the near term and over the coming years.

If you’re looking for a business loan or outside investment, you can use this section to explain how the financing will help your business grow and how you plan to achieve those growth targets. The key is to provide a clear explanation of the opportunity your business presents to the lender.

For example, if your business is launching a second product line, you might explain how the loan will help your company launch that new product and how much you think sales will increase over the next three years as a result.

» MORE: How to write a successful business plan for a loan

In this section, go into detail about the products or services you offer or plan to offer.

You should include the following:

An explanation of how your product or service works.

The pricing model for your product or service.

The typical customers you serve.

Your supply chain and order fulfillment strategy.

You can also discuss current or pending trademarks and patents associated with your product or service.

Lenders and investors will want to know what sets your product apart from your competition. In your market analysis section , explain who your competitors are. Discuss what they do well, and point out what you can do better. If you’re serving a different or underserved market, explain that.

Here, you can address how you plan to persuade customers to buy your products or services, or how you will develop customer loyalty that will lead to repeat business.

Include details about your sales and distribution strategies, including the costs involved in selling each product .

» MORE: R e a d our complete guide to small business marketing

If you’re a startup, you may not have much information on your business financials yet. However, if you’re an existing business, you’ll want to include income or profit-and-loss statements, a balance sheet that lists your assets and debts, and a cash flow statement that shows how cash comes into and goes out of the company.

Accounting software may be able to generate these reports for you. It may also help you calculate metrics such as:

Net profit margin: the percentage of revenue you keep as net income.

Current ratio: the measurement of your liquidity and ability to repay debts.

Accounts receivable turnover ratio: a measurement of how frequently you collect on receivables per year.

This is a great place to include charts and graphs that make it easy for those reading your plan to understand the financial health of your business.

This is a critical part of your business plan if you’re seeking financing or investors. It outlines how your business will generate enough profit to repay the loan or how you will earn a decent return for investors.

Here, you’ll provide your business’s monthly or quarterly sales, expenses and profit estimates over at least a three-year period — with the future numbers assuming you’ve obtained a new loan.

Accuracy is key, so carefully analyze your past financial statements before giving projections. Your goals may be aggressive, but they should also be realistic.

NerdWallet’s picks for setting up your business finances:

The best business checking accounts .

The best business credit cards .

The best accounting software .

Before the end of your business plan, summarize how your business is structured and outline each team’s responsibilities. This will help your readers understand who performs each of the functions you’ve described above — making and selling your products or services — and how much each of those functions cost.

If any of your employees have exceptional skills, you may want to include their resumes to help explain the competitive advantage they give you.

Finally, attach any supporting information or additional materials that you couldn’t fit in elsewhere. That might include:

Licenses and permits.

Equipment leases.

Bank statements.

Details of your personal and business credit history, if you’re seeking financing.

If the appendix is long, you may want to consider adding a table of contents at the beginning of this section.

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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.

Here are some tips to write a detailed, convincing business plan:

Avoid over-optimism: If you’re applying for a business bank loan or professional investment, someone will be reading your business plan closely. Providing unreasonable sales estimates can hurt your chances of approval.

Proofread: Spelling, punctuation and grammatical errors can jump off the page and turn off lenders and prospective investors. If writing and editing aren't your strong suit, you may want to hire a professional business plan writer, copy editor or proofreader.

Use free resources: SCORE is a nonprofit association that offers a large network of volunteer business mentors and experts who can help you write or edit your business plan. The U.S. Small Business Administration’s Small Business Development Centers , which provide free business consulting and help with business plan development, can also be a resource.

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What Is a Business Plan?

Understanding business plans, how to write a business plan, common elements of a business plan, how often should a business plan be updated, the bottom line, business plan: what it is, what's included, and how to write one.

Adam Hayes, Ph.D., CFA, is a financial writer with 15+ years Wall Street experience as a derivatives trader. Besides his extensive derivative trading expertise, Adam is an expert in economics and behavioral finance. Adam received his master's in economics from The New School for Social Research and his Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in sociology. He is a CFA charterholder as well as holding FINRA Series 7, 55 & 63 licenses. He currently researches and teaches economic sociology and the social studies of finance at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem.

A business plan is a document that details a company's goals and how it intends to achieve them. Business plans can be of benefit to both startups and well-established companies. For startups, a business plan can be essential for winning over potential lenders and investors. Established businesses can find one useful for staying on track and not losing sight of their goals. This article explains what an effective business plan needs to include and how to write one.

Key Takeaways

• A business plan is a document describing a company's business activities and how it plans to achieve its goals.
• Startup companies use business plans to get off the ground and attract outside investors.
• For established companies, a business plan can help keep the executive team focused on and working toward the company's short- and long-term objectives.
• There is no single format that a business plan must follow, but there are certain key elements that most companies will want to include.

Investopedia / Ryan Oakley

Any new business should have a business plan in place prior to beginning operations. In fact, banks and venture capital firms often want to see a business plan before they'll consider making a loan or providing capital to new businesses.

Even if a business isn't looking to raise additional money, a business plan can help it focus on its goals. A 2017 Harvard Business Review article reported that, "Entrepreneurs who write formal plans are 16% more likely to achieve viability than the otherwise identical nonplanning entrepreneurs."

Ideally, a business plan should be reviewed and updated periodically to reflect any goals that have been achieved or that may have changed. An established business that has decided to move in a new direction might create an entirely new business plan for itself.

There are numerous benefits to creating (and sticking to) a well-conceived business plan. These include being able to think through ideas before investing too much money in them and highlighting any potential obstacles to success. A company might also share its business plan with trusted outsiders to get their objective feedback. In addition, a business plan can help keep a company's executive team on the same page about strategic action items and priorities.

Business plans, even among competitors in the same industry, are rarely identical. However, they often have some of the same basic elements, as we describe below.

While it's a good idea to provide as much detail as necessary, it's also important that a business plan be concise enough to hold a reader's attention to the end.

While there are any number of templates that you can use to write a business plan, it's best to try to avoid producing a generic-looking one. Let your plan reflect the unique personality of your business.

Many business plans use some combination of the sections below, with varying levels of detail, depending on the company.

The length of a business plan can vary greatly from business to business. Regardless, it's best to fit the basic information into a 15- to 25-page document. Other crucial elements that take up a lot of space—such as applications for patents—can be referenced in the main document and attached as appendices.

These are some of the most common elements in many business plans:

• Executive summary: This section introduces the company and includes its mission statement along with relevant information about the company's leadership, employees, operations, and locations.
• Products and services: Here, the company should describe the products and services it offers or plans to introduce. That might include details on pricing, product lifespan, and unique benefits to the consumer. Other factors that could go into this section include production and manufacturing processes, any relevant patents the company may have, as well as proprietary technology . Information about research and development (R&D) can also be included here.
• Market analysis: A company needs to have a good handle on the current state of its industry and the existing competition. This section should explain where the company fits in, what types of customers it plans to target, and how easy or difficult it may be to take market share from incumbents.
• Marketing strategy: This section can describe how the company plans to attract and keep customers, including any anticipated advertising and marketing campaigns. It should also describe the distribution channel or channels it will use to get its products or services to consumers.
• Financial plans and projections: Established businesses can include financial statements, balance sheets, and other relevant financial information. New businesses can provide financial targets and estimates for the first few years. Your plan might also include any funding requests you're making.

The best business plans aren't generic ones created from easily accessed templates. A company should aim to entice readers with a plan that demonstrates its uniqueness and potential for success.

2 Types of Business Plans

Business plans can take many forms, but they are sometimes divided into two basic categories: traditional and lean startup. According to the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) , the traditional business plan is the more common of the two.

• Traditional business plans : These plans tend to be much longer than lean startup plans and contain considerably more detail. As a result they require more work on the part of the business, but they can also be more persuasive (and reassuring) to potential investors.
• Lean startup business plans : These use an abbreviated structure that highlights key elements. These business plans are short—as short as one page—and provide only the most basic detail. If a company wants to use this kind of plan, it should be prepared to provide more detail if an investor or a lender requests it.

Why Do Business Plans Fail?

A business plan is not a surefire recipe for success. The plan may have been unrealistic in its assumptions and projections to begin with. Markets and the overall economy might change in ways that couldn't have been foreseen. A competitor might introduce a revolutionary new product or service. All of this calls for building some flexibility into your plan, so you can pivot to a new course if needed.

How frequently a business plan needs to be revised will depend on the nature of the business. A well-established business might want to review its plan once a year and make changes if necessary. A new or fast-growing business in a fiercely competitive market might want to revise it more often, such as quarterly.

What Does a Lean Startup Business Plan Include?

The lean startup business plan is an option when a company prefers to give a quick explanation of its business. For example, a brand-new company may feel that it doesn't have a lot of information to provide yet.

Sections can include: a value proposition ; the company's major activities and advantages; resources such as staff, intellectual property, and capital; a list of partnerships; customer segments; and revenue sources.

A business plan can be useful to companies of all kinds. But as a company grows and the world around it changes, so too should its business plan. So don't think of your business plan as carved in granite but as a living document designed to evolve with your business.

Harvard Business Review. " Research: Writing a Business Plan Makes Your Startup More Likely to Succeed ."

U.S. Small Business Administration. " Write Your Business Plan ."

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Business plans for startups

• Establish milestones to achieve success.
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• Fully establish the vision for your business.

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

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• 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.

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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.

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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.

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

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

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

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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.

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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.

How one millennial quit a corporate job, became self-employed, and set himself up financially to start a small business

• In 2017, Paul Millerd left his high-paying consulting job to work for himself.
• He set himself up financially by saving a 12-month cash runway and negotiating a gradual transition.
• This article is part of " Unlocking Small Business Success ," a series providing micro businesses with a road map to growth.

In 2017, Paul Millerd walked away from a six-figure consulting salary.

The decision also meant paying back his full $24,000 sign-on bonus to his previous employer, he said.

"It wasn't this cliché of, 'I'm going to boldly quit my job and run into the sunset and bet on myself,'" the 39-year-old solopreneur and author of " The Pathless Path " told Business Insider. "It was more of an exasperated only-option-left mindset. I wasn't loving my job. I was working with a boss that I wasn't getting along with."

Since graduating from college, Millerd had worked for five companies, convinced every move was "the final stop" but finding himself right where he found himself in 2017: burned out and looking for a different consulting gig.

It was time to try something new, but he wasn't sure what. He shared the steps he took that set him up to leave corporate America and exchange a comfortable paycheck for the unknown.

1. He had a 12-month cash runway

Millerd had about $50,000 in savings after paying back his bonus. It was enough to sustain him for roughly a year, according to back-of-the-envelope math.

He wouldn't necessarily have felt comfortable quitting without the cash cushion. "As soon as I calculated I could live a minimal life on 50 grand a year, I was out of there," he said, adding that he didn't always have savings. Business school "wiped out" what little he'd saved early on in his career and left him with about $70,000 in student-loan debt.

"As soon as that savings account built up, I became a little bolder in terms of taking risks," he said. "It was like, this is some potential freedom to try different things."

2. He negotiated a gradual transition with his company

Millerd didn't give two weeks' notice or leave immediately.

"I negotiated to stay on and train some people," he said. "I really had no plan, so I needed at least a couple of months."

If anything, he stayed "a month or a month and a half too long," he added, but it gave him time to prepare for his next chapter and think about what freelancing would look like.

"I set up my LLC," he said. "I started networking . I reached out to some small consulting firms to see if they needed contractors. I reached out to friends in business school. I built a website. I did some writing."

The networking paid off: It was at a business-school reunion that he landed his first freelance gig after reconnecting with one of his former professors who was looking for consulting work.

3. He lowered his expenses and funded a cheaper life through freelance projects

After leaving his firm in May 2017, the "first phase" of working for himself, as Millerd described it, was: "Get paid; lower costs."

He became a more conscious spender, he said: "A lot of people start with, 'Here's what I make; here's what I budget and spend.' I flipped this equation in my head. For me, it was, 'Everything I spend, I need to earn 30% more than that because of taxes.' So if I'm going to go out for ramen and it costs $20 in New York, that's going to cost me $26. I need to earn the $26."

It helped that he temporarily moved to Boston for his first freelance gig in late 2017. He sublet his New York City apartment, moved in with roommates in Boston, and "really simplified my life," he said, adding that he cut his cost of living from about $6,500 a month to $3,500 a month.

An early money mindset he adopted was "buying time" by living on as little as possible, Millerd, who moved to Taiwan in 2019 and decreased his expenses even more, said. The less he spent, the longer his runway would last.

"If you're spending $1,000 a month, you can buy six months for $6,000," he said. "That was the mode I was in from years two to three."

Lowering costs takes some of the earning pressure off, but it helps to have income coming in even if you have a cash runway.

"I think the smoothest transitions are what I did: Go from full-time work to freelance work, which is essentially doing full-time work, but you're just doing it in a more flexible contract way," said Millerd, who encourages aspiring entrepreneurs to start asking their employers about flexible, part-time work. "Go to your company and say, 'I don't want to quit. Would you be open to a pitch of me turning this into a four-day-a-week job? Could I do three days a week? Here's what I want to do. Here's how much I charge for this.'"

If your manager doesn't want to lose you, they may be more open than you think to part-time work, he said.

4. He had a 'break the glass' plan

In a worst-case scenario, if he drained his savings and couldn't land any freelance gigs, Millerd always knew he could find a way to make money.

Since leaving corporate America in 2017, his revenue streams have included freelance consulting, coaching , online course sales, book sales, and affiliate marketing.

If he never figured out how to make money working for himself , "there was always the sense that I had the capability of breaking glass in case of emergency," he said, adding: "I'm creative enough to figure out how to make money. I can go work at a restaurant. I'll take any job if I need to. Especially now with a kid, I don't have an ego when it comes to taking care of my family."

• Main content

Moscow major projects

Since launching modern Russia’s largest construction program in 2011, Moscow has more than doubled its territory. To catalyze the full potential of this rapidly-growing metropolitan area of 19.5 million people, the City of Moscow’s government pays significant attention to infrastructure as one of the key pillars of urban development—with a current focus on projects that create livable and comfortable urban spaces for both citizens and tourists.

Following its first five years of projects, Moscow was given special recognition for “demonstrating outstanding strategic commitment and ambition” by the International Association of Public Transport (UITP). That period saw 50 million square meters of real estate developed, 370 social infrastructure objects built, and the metro expanded by 30 percent—including 101 kilometers of metro lines and 55 new stations. Innovative finance solutions, necessitated by the city government’s debt-free approach to development, enabled all this whilst maintaining a budget surplus and remaining a net donor region within Russia.

On 30-31 May 2018, the City of Moscow and Mosinzhproekt—a large Russian engineering, construction and project management company—hosted an Innovation Site Visit to showcase Moscow’s major projects to the Global Infrastructure Initiative (GII) community. Through roundtable discussions and site visits with project executives, participants explored where innovation and technology have enabled the step-changes that have allowed Moscow to deliver major projects on a short timeline—and how to apply these lessons to other cities and major projects.

The following insights emerged during GII’s Innovation Site Visit in Moscow:

• Establish a structure for citizen involvement. Major urban infrastructure projects are an extremely visible expenditure of taxpayer funds while also often being large disruptors of daily life. A foundation of citizen support is essential for success and requires a thoughtful engagement program. In Moscow, citizens are encouraged to participate in the planning process by steering major initiatives through the “Active Citizen” application—a portal for online referendums on topics appropriate for democratic decision-making. To date, almost 2 million citizens have cast more than 90 million votes on over 3,000 issues through the platform. The purpose of this structure is to increase the opportunity for citizen engagement and involvement with their city’s major investments.
• Manage the disruption ‘cost’. Major urban projects cannot be delivered without disrupting daily life. While citizens can be enrolled to accept the disruption as a necessary investment for a better outcome, equal attention needs to be given to managing the disruption ‘cost’ as to managing real expenditures. For example, MyStreets, a project to upgrade and enhance Moscow’s urban environment through reconstruction of streets and building façades, was disruptive to many citizens and commuters. However, through staging and swift execution, the disruption was minimized and the intended lifestyle improvements were quickly delivered to Muscovites and tourists who traverse newly styled pedestrian streets every day.
• Invest in technology to optimize sequencing. Moscow’s cohesive vision for urban transformation has allowed early investments in technology to assist future delivery. One of the first projects completed was the centrally-controlled traffic management system which can monitor traffic conditions and urban movement through more than 2,000 traffic cameras and 160,000 CCTV cameras installed across the city. Data collected on current conditions, and knowledge of planned activities, allows real-time rerouting of traffic through the city’s dynamic signage. It also allowed identification and analysis of permanent traffic flow changes that could further ease disruptions like those created by the major construction projects.

Moscow traffic speed increased over 13% in 201.

• Maximize utility of brownfield sites. A key reason the Moscow Central Circle (MCC), a new light-rail system integrated into the Moscow Metro, was completed in a record four-year period was the repurposing of existing brownfield networks which allowed the installation of modern technology on existing rail transport routes. The MCC’s 31 new stations will revitalize formerly abandoned industrial areas when its next stage of development builds an expected 300,000+ square meters of hotels, 250,000+ square meters of retail, and 200,000+ square meters of offices. This will give districts with historically poor infrastructure access a chance to develop at the same pace as the rest of the city.
• Leverage PPPs to enhance basic services. To manage public cost and investment while delivering world-class infrastructure, municipalities need access to additional financing tools. Based on a structure that took an act of federal legislation, the MCC is an example of enhancing publicly developed foundations with private services. The tracks and land are owned by the Moscow Metro, with the rolling stock subcontracted to Russian Railways under a life cycle contract with a guaranteed buyback. The innovation is that Moscow Metro is licensing the development rights of its individual stations to private investors. Though all stations will exist under the same covenants, individual investors will assume their station’s construction cost and operational risk and rewards.
• Create citizen-centric spaces. In addition to serving as open spaces, today’s city residents expect their parks to provide for entertainment and consumer services too. Many modern parks offer architectural features, charismatic vistas, and social, educational, and artistic spaces for all ages. When Zaryadye Park, an area of prime real estate next to the Kremlin was converted to parkland, an international contest resulted in 10 hectares being densely designed for this multi-function purpose. The outcome was two concert venues, restaurants, a parking garage, an entertainment complex, and a biological education center, all neatly camouflaged into a natural landscape that represents Russia’s ecological diversity.
• Innovate where needed but not excessively. Moscow’s planners and builders did not shy away from technological innovation. The MCC used weldless joint rails to create a smoother and quieter system that is easier on riders and less disruptive to residents living near the railway tracks. The retrofit designs for Luzhniki Stadium were fully modeled in building information management (BIM)—a step which identified more than 100,000 conflict points before they could escalate into project delays. However, the project teams were also careful not to force innovation where it could create unnecessary risk and complications. Instead, they delivered the massive project portfolio by tactically melding innovations with highly-proficient execution of well-known and proven methods.

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Moscow-City – The Moscow International Business Center

• 3 years ago

Moscow-City is an iconic location for life and work in Russia’s capital. Enormous skyscrapers, business centers, the best restaurants and retail spaces – all this is concentrated in one place. The ultramodern Moscow-City towers are truly striking in their outward appearance, and the layout of the apartments inside and the fantastic views that can be seen from the higher floors are nothing short of impressive.

This skyscraper compound, often referred to as Moskva-City, is the Russian take on Manhattan, where businessmen strike multi-million dollar deals daily while ordinary life goes on next door. Its state of the art spaces offer the ultimate convenience. The infrastructure of this business district is so well-developed that anyone can find something interesting for themselves here: from residential apartments to boutiques, clubs, exhibitions and more.

When the foundations for the Moscow-City skyscrapers were laid, a special kind of concrete was used, the properties of which are amplified by many times compared to standard concrete. Even in the event of a plane crashing into one of the buildings, the structural integrity of the towers will be preserved.

The architects of the Moscow-City Business Center have created a unique locality that has integrated into itself the hub of the capital’s business life and a whole ensemble of historical monuments. Anyone can admire the beauty of these skyscrapers from within or without the compound. There are also a number of apartments for sale or rent available in the MIBC itself. But first, let’s have a look at some more interesting facts about the financial core of Russia’s capital.

• 1 How It All Began
• 2.1 Moscow-City Central Core
• 2.2 Tower 2000
• 2.3 Evolution Tower
• 2.4 Imperia Tower
• 2.5 Moscow Tower and St. Petersburg Tower
• 2.6 Steel Peak Tower
• 2.7 Federation Tower
• 2.8 Mercury City Tower
• 2.9 OKO Tower Complex
• 3.1 Afimall City Shopping Center
• 3.2 Bagration Bridge
• 3.3 Expocentre Fairgrounds
• 4 Renting and Buying Real Estate in Moscow-City

How It All Began

The history of Moscow-City goes all the way back to 1992. The government of Moscow at the time wanted to bring into existence its own skyscrapers like the ones in London or New York. And the idea caught on. In 1992 the project for the construction of the huge “Moscow-City” MIBC compound was enthusiastically approved, kick-starting the painstaking preparatory works. The original intention was that the skyscrapers would only house office space. However, as time went on, the towers began to welcome in ordinary residents who wanted to live on the territory of this business and finance hub.

Moscow-City is undoubtedly a city within a city. Its grandeur is mind-boggling. It is perfect in every way: from location to infrastructure. And today, anyone can get a feel of the atmosphere of the “capital city” of Russia’s business world – many of the apartments in Moscow-City are available for rent. Any citizen of Russia and even nationals of other countries can make use of these offers.

What It’s Like in 2021

Today Moscow-City is not just a magnificent and fascinating sight, but also a real hub for the work, life and leisure of thousands. Its infrastructure is organized in such a way that there is no need to leave the territory of the “city within a city” at all. This business district contains everything one may need for work and recreation. And if one does decide to venture out into the larger metropolis, the MIBC’s three subway stations make this remarkably simple to do.

Moscow-City stands on the Presnenskaya Embankment . Each of the buildings in the district has a name, which simplifies its identification. Some of the buildings form complexes that are united under one name, such as the Neva Towers and the Naberezhnaya Tower complex of two skyscrapers and one high rise. There are a total of 16 towers in the MIBC, of which the most popular are:

• Moscow-City Central Core;
• Tower 2000;
• Evolution Tower;
• Imperia Tower;
• City of Capitals (Moscow Tower and St. Petersburg Tower);
• Steel Peak Tower;
• Federation Tower;
• Mercury City Tower;
• OKO Tower Complex.

Moscow-City Central Core

This is the most complex building within the MIBC compound. Its total floor area is a whopping 1 476 378 sqft (450 000 m²). It consists of two massive parts, each of which boasts a truly impressive infrastructure. The underground part includes 3 Moscow Metro stations, a parking lot for automobiles and a shopping mall. The aboveground part houses a concert hall and a hotel.

Tower 2000 is a skyscraper having 34 stories. Its total floor area is 200 318 sqft (61 057 m²), most of which is office space. The key feature of this skyscraper is its direct connection to the Bagration Bridge, which has its own shopping arcade. The tower has everything one may need while working here, including a large parking lot and several restaurants.

Evolution Tower

This elegant structure is 836 feet (255 m) high – that’s a whole 54 stories! The total floor area here is 554 462 sqft (169 000 m²). The Evolution Tower’s key feature is that it has its own Wedding Hall. This skyscraper houses large office spaces, a parking lot and several restaurants.

Imperia Tower

MIBC’s Imperia Tower is the undeniable focal point of the MIBC’s business life. Its height is 784 feet (239 m), which means one can hold conferences and resolve key business matters on the 59 th floor! And that really is amazing! The tower has everything: offices, hotels, restaurants and parking lots. But if you want a truly unforgettable experience, visit the viewing platform! It is situated on the 58 th floor and a simply astounding view of Moscow can be seen from it.

Moscow Tower and St. Petersburg Tower

The Moscow and St. Petersburg Towers are the chief representatives of the MIBC. The Moscow Tower has 76 stories and is 990 feet (302 m) high, while the St. Petersburg Tower has 65 stories and stands 843 feet (257 m) tall. Both towers offer fantastic views of the capital city.

Most of the floors of these two skyscrapers are taken up by luxurious sky apartments. There are also several recreational and entertainment centers, office spaces, restaurants, etc.

Steel Peak Tower

Also known as the Eurasia Tower of Moscow-City, this supertall skyscraper has a total of 680 912 sqft (207 542 m²) of floor space. Most of this is taken up by offices, and the rest – by residential quarters (around 65 616 sqft or 20 000 m²). The tower also houses a number of the greatest restaurants, studios and shopping centers.

Federation Tower

The Federation Tower is a complex of two skyscrapers, known as Tower East and Tower West. Tower East is the second highest building in Europe (the first is a skyscraper recently erected in the city of St. Petersburg). Its height is a colossal 1 223 feet (373 m) and that makes 95 stories! Tower West, on the other hand, is noticeably shorter at 794 feet (242 m).

The Federation Tower is a multifunctional complex.

Mercury City Tower

The Mercury City Tower skyscraper is widely known as one of the tallest buildings in Europe. Its height is 1 112 feet (339 m) and it has 75 stories. It is multifunctional by concept, holding within its walls shopping centers, offices and all kinds of other spaces. It is also possible to rent apartments here.

OKO Tower Complex

The OKO Tower Complex consists of two towers – the North Tower (49 stories and 803 ft or 245 m in height) and the South Tower (85 stories and 1 155 ft or 352 m in height).

Each of the MIBC’s tower complexes has its own recreational and entertainment areas, restaurants and parking lots. The top floors of most of these buildings contain luxurious fully-furnished apartments. At night, the towers shine with bright lights, while inside them the panoramic windows reveal astounding views of Moscow. This breathtaking view of the capital of Russia is why visiting Moscow-City is a must!

What Not to Miss

There are many interesting landmarks within the Moscow-City compound, but three of them are truly deserving of special attention:

• The Afimall City Shopping Center;
• The Bagration Bridge with two galleries and a shopping arcade;
• The Expocentre Fairgrounds.

Afimall City Shopping Center

The Afimall City Shopping and Entertainment Center is located in Moscow-City’s Central Core. It is divided into 4 zones, each with its own theme – one for every season of the year. The shopping center houses the biggest indoor fountain found worldwide. The height of this watery wonder is 118 feet or 36 meters.

The shopping and entertainment center contains everything one might expect from one of the largest centers of its kind:

• Retail brand stores;
• Exhibitions;
• Game rooms;
• and Restaurants.

The main recreational space is roofed with a giant transparent dome, which is an impressive sight to behold.

Bagration Bridge

Bagration Bridge with its upper and lower galleries has a shopping center all of its own and was the first structure to be built as part of the Moscow-City business district. Its lower gallery is a shopping arcade and its upper gallery is an open-air viewing platform with a spectacular view of the MIBC and the Moskva River. The hall of the bridge houses the 23 foot tall sculpture called “Tree of Life”. Having gone through the bridge via either one of its two galleries, a pedestrian would find themselves standing right on the Kutuzovsky Prospekt.

Expocentre Fairgrounds

The Expocentre Fairgrounds exhibition venue is located at the very heart of the capital. The first exhibition held at the Expocentre happened all the way back in 1959, much earlier than the MIBC was erected. Today it is the venue of many interesting events.

Exhibitions with very diverse themes are regularly held at this complex. An up-to-date schedule can be found on the official webpage of the Expocentre. The events can be free or fixed-price entry, depending on their type.

Renting and Buying Real Estate in Moscow-City

Moscow-City is not only a work and business hub, but also a residential neighborhood. Any citizen of Russia can rent or buy apartments or elite sky lounges here. The variety of residential real estate available inside the skyscrapers is impressive, including options for any pocket. The following buildings in the MIBC contain residential blocks:

This skyscraper has a mirror glass façade which reflects the passing clouds. Just imagine how beautiful that looks! Anyone can buy an apartment in the Federation Tower. Such properties are not only a good investment, but also a mark of prestige. The average price of residential real estate here is 45 million rubles for an apartment with a total floor area of 334 sqft (102 m²). The average price of a square meter (3.28 square feet) is in the range of 650 to 700 thousand rubles. There are two- and three-room apartments available in the Federation Tower, each with its own loggia. As for rent, the minimum price of one month’s stay in a three-room apartment in this skyscraper is 300 000 rubles per month.

The Mercury City Tower skyscraper welcomes citizens from all parts of Russia. This building is no less tall than the world-famous Dubai skyscrapers. Living in its apartments is a delight. The minimum cost of an apartment in the Mercury City Tower is 75 million rubles. The average price of a square meter (3.28 square feet) is 800 thousand rubles. And for those looking for a lower price point, some of the properties are also available for rent – in this case you will pay a minimum of 250 thousand rubles per month.

The Imperia Tower is a key cluster of interesting offers. The best options for buying and renting apartments within the MIBC can all be found in this skyscraper. The lowest price of a residential apartment here is 40 million rubles. A square meter (3.28 square feet) in a luxurious apartment in the Imperia Tower currently costs 600 thousand rubles, while the price range of the listings available for rent in this skyscraper is from 350 thousand all the way up to 1 million rubles per month.

This complex, standing on a faceted or “crystal” base, is an architectural engineering project boasting spectacular design. Behind its impressive façades is an abundance of penthouses and apartments having floor areas in the range of 262 sqft (80 m²) to 984 sqft (300 m²). The minimum price of an apartment in the OKO Tower Complex is 40 million rubles (the price of a square meter (3.28 square feet) is 500 thousand rubles). You can rent an apartment here starting from 400 thousand rubles per month.

City of Capitals

The City of Capitals is an exemplary architectural complex. Its sum appearance gives the impression of a huge city. Inside its walls are spacious apartments available for purchase and rent. This complex is considered to be especially prestigious. The prices of apartments here start from 50 million rubles, while the minimum cost of renting is 400 thousand rubles per month.

Please note! The price of real estate available for purchase or rent depends on: the tower, the floor, the total floor area, the furnishings and/or interior design, and other factors.

The key advantages of buying/purchasing real estate in Moscow-City are:

• Favorable location;
• Convenient transportation links;
• Well-developed infrastructure;
• High safety level;
• Efficient architecture;
• Panoramic windows.

Buying real estate in Moscow-City is very much a rational decision, most appealing to those who value the ultimate level of comfort. The residential apartments here boast impressive interior design solutions executed in the contemporary style.

Related posts

Property tax in russia, the best international schools in moscow.

Our Rating of the Best Districts of Moscow for Living In

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Moscow's High Rise Bohemia: The International Business District With No Business

• Written by Dario Goodwin
• Published on March 17, 2015

The Moscow International Business Center (Also known as Moskva-City ) was meant to be Russia ’s ticket into the Western world. First conceived in 1992, the district at the edge of Moscow’s city center is intended to contain up to 300,000 inhabitants, employees and visitors at any given moment and, when completed, will house over 4 million square meters of prime retail, hotel and office space to create what the Russian government desired most from this project: an enormous financial district that could dwarf London’s Canary Wharf and challenge Manhattan . Twenty three years later though, Moscow-based real estate company Blackwood estimates that as much as 45% of this new space is entirely vacant and rents have plummeted far below the average for the rest of Moscow. The only press Moskva-City is attracting is for tenants like the High Level Hostel , a hostel catering to backpackers and other asset-poor tourists on the 43rd floor of the Imperia Tower , with prices starting at $25.50 for a bed in a six-person room. This is not the glittering world of western high finance that was envisioned back in the post-Soviet 90s; but what has it become instead?

As one might expect from a project of this sheer ambition, Moskva-City has a troubled past. The economic crash in 2008 hit Russia hard enough to evict the previous Mayor of Moscow , Yuri Luzhkov, who had been a cheerleader for the district, and replace him with the considerably more austere Sergei Sobyanin, who famously declared that the whole idea was an “urban planning mistake.” But as recently as 2013, the Wall Street Journal was triumphantly claiming that Moskva-City had risen from the dead, citing 80% occupancy rates and glowing quotes from industry insiders claiming that Moskva-City was the "place to be." Driven by record highs in oil prices, Moscow looked poised to become the next Dubai .

Instead, Moscow is now in the grip of an economic winter prompted by western sanctions and drops in the price of oil. The large financial groupings that Moskva-City was meant to shelter have been warned off by their inability to issue credit to international markets, for example - but Moskva-City isn’t just an Empire State Building left empty by the Great Depression.

A fundamental problem that is holding Moskva back compared to the rest of Moscow is the simple fact that currently, getting to Moskva-City is nigh-on impossible at peak hours. Moscow has long been plagued with transport problems, ever since the government failed to match the dramatic expansion of the city with a dramatic expansion of the transport system after the Second World War. Despite being only 2.5 miles from the Kremlin , Moskva-City is only just inside the ring road that bounds the city center and which acts as the only real transport link to it (and as a result, is clogged by construction vehicles.) A railway and metro hub has been finished, but so far only runs a one-stop shuttle service to the closest Metro station that is actually integrated with the rest of Moscow Metro. The isolation of the outer districts is a large, negative part of the Moscow psyche, and it’s not surprising that this is driving away the globetrotting financial elite this project was meant to attract.

The project is managed by architectural practice No.6, which is a constituent part of the large Moscow based practice Mosproject-2 , which is itself a public corporation headed up by Mikhail Vasilyevich Posokhin, who is apparently the “People’s Architect of Russia.” Despite all this state involvement, the project has still managed to become bogged down in bureaucratic infighting - each lot is managed and developed individually, which has led to developers competing for occupants by slashing rates.

Much has been written about the way modern financial districts and towers that inhabit them can be unwelcoming, forbidding or even hostile by design, but the skyscrapers of Moskva-City seem even less friendly than usual. The site - a former stone quarry, chosen out of necessity as the only place in the city center where a new district could be plausibly constructed - is isolated both physically and visually, leaving the cluster a stark anomaly on the city skyline. Even the names seem more imposing than optimistic now: Imperia, City of Capitals , Steel Peak.

The Mercury City Tower , so far the tallest completed building on the site, is officially “a strong reference to Russian constructivism, [which] gives the tower a strong vertical thrust similar to the one found in New York's Chrysler building .” It would be easy to criticize the Mercury City Tower for picking ‘inspirations’ that are so totally opposed to each other - The Chrysler building the defining emblem of American pre-crash confidence and Constructivism created with the express purpose (especially architecturally) of extending the Bolshevik revolution into a social revolution - but the way they smash those two inspirations together is almost beautifully ironic.

Even though the High Level Hostel is less an asset to a financial district than it is a PR problem, it’s been a huge success since opening in September, already ranked 27th out of 766 hostels in Moscow by TripAdvisor. According to the management agency for Moskva-City , 58% of the new occupant signings this year have been non-financial, including a number of small to medium size businesses. Other areas of office space have been occupied by a restaurant and a culinary school, while another space has been redeveloped into a 6,000 seat theater.

While Moskva-City is failing to be a financial district that could take on the world, it’s inadvertently becoming a humanized space catering to the very groups that the Russian economic miracle left behind. Taking advantage of rents lower than the rest of Moscow , the world class facilities and the sheer desperation of the developers, the humanization of Moskva-City could well create the world’s first high-rise bohemia.

Of course, these are not spaces designed for a community, or even for people: these are spaces designed for money, and there’s little scope for changing something that seems so baked into the design of Moskva-City . The High Level Hostel is trading off of the irony of being a hostel in a banking tower, but it’s perfectly possible that at some point people will no longer find this joke funny (especially in a building that seems hostile to the very idea of humor). The isolation of Moskva, even though it allowed this community to spring up in the first place, is just as detrimental to a humanized district as it is to a financial one: even bohemians need to move around the city, or the district risks becoming a black-spot instead of a hot-spot.

Moskva-City’s isolation won’t last forever. The end of construction will open the roads up to traffic, and plans to properly integrate the spur lines of the Metro in this area into the wider system are well under way. The integration of the district will inevitably push up rents, and the Russian economy will eventually boom once again. When that happens, Moskva-City is prime territory to be reconquered by the giants of international finance, and it seems unlikely that the municipal or national governments would want to step in to protect this accidental district. For now, though, the towers capture perfectly this moment of Russia ’s schizophrenic understanding of its place in the world.

• Sustainability

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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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IT Consulting Business Plan Template

Written by Dave Lavinsky

IT Consulting Business Plan

Over the past 20+ years, we have helped over 500 entrepreneurs and business owners create business plans to start and grow their IT consulting firms. 

If you’re unfamiliar with creating an IT consulting business plan, you may think creating one will be a time-consuming and frustrating process. For most entrepreneurs it is, but for you, it won’t be since we’re here to help. We have the experience, resources, and knowledge to help you create a great business plan.

In this article, you will learn some background information on why business planning is important. Then, you will learn how to write a IT consulting business plan step-by-step so you can create your plan today.

Download our Ultimate Business Plan Template here >

What Is a Business Plan?

A business plan provides a snapshot of your IT consulting business as it stands today, and lays out your growth plan for the next five years. It explains your business goals and your strategies for reaching them. It also includes market research to support your plans.

Why You Need a Business Plan

If you’re looking to start an IT consulting business or grow your existing IT consulting company, you need a business plan. A business plan will help you raise funding, if needed, and plan out the growth of your IT consulting business to improve your chances of success. Your IT consulting business plan is a living document that should be updated annually as your company grows and changes.

Sources of Funding for an IT Consulting Businesses

With regards to funding, the main sources of funding for an IT consulting business are personal savings, credit cards, bank loans, and angel investors. When it comes to bank loans, banks will want to review your business plan and gain confidence that you will be able to repay your loan and interest. To acquire this confidence, the loan officer will not only want to ensure that your financials are reasonable, but they will also want to see a professional plan. Such a plan will give them the confidence that you can successfully and professionally operate a business. Personal savings and bank loans are the most common funding paths for IT consulting companies.

Finish Your Business Plan Today!

How to write a business plan for an it consulting business.

If you want to start an IT consulting business or expand your current one, you need a business plan. The guide below details the necessary information for how to write each essential component of your IT consulting business plan.

Executive Summary

Your executive summary provides an introduction to your business plan, but it is normally the last section you write because it provides a summary of each key section of your plan.

The goal of your executive summary is to quickly engage the reader. Explain to them the kind of IT consulting business you are running and the status. For example, are you a startup, do you have an IT consulting business that you would like to grow, or are you operating an established IT consulting business that you would like to sell?

Next, provide an overview of each of the subsequent sections of your plan. 

• Give a brief overv iew of the IT consulting industry. 
• Discuss the type of IT consulting business you are operating. 
• Detail your direct competitors. Give an overview of your target customers. 
• Provide a snapshot of your marketing strategy. Identify the key members of your team. 
• Offer an overview of your financial plan.

Company Overview

In your company overview, you will detail the type of IT consulting business you are operating.

For example, you might specialize in one of the following types of IT consulting businesses:

• Strategic planning : offers IT consulting services to help clients assess their IT needs and formulate plans for system implementation.
• Architecture planning: offers IT consulting services to create a system and supporting infrastructure.
• Operational assessment: offers IT consulting services to assess the IT operating efficiency. 
• Implementation planning: offers IT consulting services to help clients rollout and test new IT solutions.

In addition to explaining the type of IT consulting business you will operate, the company overview needs to provide background on the business.

Include answers to questions such as:

• When and why did you start the business?
• What milestones have you achieved to date? Milestones could include the number of clients served, the number of consultations with positive outcomes, reaching $X amount of revenue. 
• Your legal business structure. Are you incorporated as an S-Corp? An LLC? A sole proprietorship? Explain your legal structure here.

Industry Analysis

In your industry or market analysis, you need to provide an overview of the IT consulting industry.

While this may seem unnecessary, it serves multiple purposes.

First, researching the IT consulting industry educates you. It helps you understand the market in which you are operating. 

Secondly, market research can improve your marketing strategy, particularly if your analysis identifies market trends.

The third reason is to prove to readers that you are an expert in your industry. By conducting the research and presenting it in your plan, you achieve just that.

The following questions should be answered in the industry analysis section of your IT consulting business plan:

• How big is the IT consulting industry (in dollars)?
• Is the market declining or increasing?
• Who are the key competitors in the market?
• Who are the key suppliers in the market?
• What trends are affecting the industry?
• What is the industry’s growth forecast over the next 5 – 10 years?
• What is the relevant market size? That is, how big is the potential target market for your IT consulting business? You can extrapolate such a figure by assessing the size of the market in the entire country and then applying that figure to your local population.

Customer Analysis

The customer analysis section of your IT consulting business plan must detail the customers you serve and/or expect to serve.

The following are examples of customer segments: individuals, schools, families, and corporations.

As you can imagine, the customer segment(s) you choose will have a great impact on the type of IT consulting business you operate. Clearly, individuals would respond to different marketing promotions than corporations, for example.

Try to break out your target customers in terms of their demographic and psychographic profiles. With regards to demographics, including a discussion of the ages, genders, locations, and income levels of the potential customers you seek to serve.

Psychographic profiles explain the wants and needs of your target customers. The more you can recognize and define these needs, the better you will do in attracting and retaining your customers.

Finish Your IT Consulting Business Plan in 1 Day!

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With Growthink’s Ultimate Business Plan Template you can finish your plan in just 8 hours or less!

Competitive Analysis

Your competitive analysis should identify the indirect and direct competitors your business faces and then focus on the latter.

Direct competitors are othe r IT consulting businesses. 

Indirect competitors are other options that customers have to purchase from that aren’t directly competing with your product or service. This includes other types of IT specialists, business consultants, and internal IT staff. You need to mention such competition as well.

For each such competitor, provide an overview of their business and document their strengths and weaknesses. Unless you once worked at your competitors’ businesses, it will be impossible to know everything about them. But you should be able to find out key things about them such as

• What types of customers do they serve?
• What type of IT consulting business are they?
• What is their pricing (premium, low, etc.)?
• What are they good at?
• What are their weaknesses?

With regards to the last two questions, think about your answers from the customers’ perspective. And don’t be afraid to ask your competitors’ customers what they like most and least about them.

The final part of your competitive analysis section is to document your areas of competitive advantage. For example:

• Will you make it easier for new customers to obtain your services?
• Will you offer products or services that your competition doesn’t?
• Will you provide better customer service?
• Will you offer better pricing?

Think about ways you will outperform your competition and document them in this section of your plan.  

Marketing Plan

Traditionally, a marketing plan includes the four P’s: Product, Price, Place, and Promotion. For a IT consulting business plan, your marketing strategy should include the following:

Product : In the product section, you should reiterate the type o f IT consulting company that you documented in your company overview. Then, detail the specific products or services you will be offering. For example, will you provide consulting services for cloud applications, cybersecurity and compliance, IT solutions management, or network operations?

Price : Document the prices you will offer and how they compare to your competitors. Essentially in the product and price sub-sections of yo ur plan, yo u are presenting the services you offer and their prices.

Place : Place refers to the site of your IT consulting company. Document where your company is situated and mention how the site will impact your success. For example, is your IT consulting business located in a busy retail district, a business district, a standalone office, or purely online? Discuss how your site might be the ideal location for your customers.

Promotions : The final part of your IT consulting marketing plan is where you will document how you will drive potential customers to your location(s). The following are some promotional methods you might consider:

• Advertise in local papers, radio stations and/or magazines
• Reach out to websites 
• Distribute flyers
• Engage in email marketing
• Advertise on social media platforms
• Improve the SEO (search engine optimization) on your website for targeted keywords

Operations Plan

While the earlier sections of your business plan explained your goals, your operations plan describes how you will meet them. Your operations plan should have two distinct sections as follows.

Everyday short-term processes include all of the tasks involved in running your IT consulting business, including answering calls, scheduling meetings with clients, billing and collecting payments, etc. 

Long-term goals are the milestones you hope to achieve. These could include the dates when you expect to acquire your Xth client, or when you hope to reach $X in revenue. It could also be when you expect to expand your IT consulting business to a new city.  

Management Team

To demonstrate your IT consulting business’ potential to succeed, a strong management team is essential. Highlight your key players’ backgrounds, emphasizing those skills and experiences that prove their ability to grow a company. 

Ideally, you and/or your team members have direct experience in managing IT consulting businesses. If so, highlight this experience and expertise. But also highlight any experience that you think will help your business succeed.

If your team is lacking, consider assembling an advisory board. An advisory board would include 2 to 8 individuals who would act as mentors to your business. They would help answer questions and provide strategic guidance. If needed, look for advisory board members with experience in managing an IT consulting business.  

Financial Plan

Your financial plan should include your 5-year financial statement broken out both monthly or quarterly for the first year and then annually. Your financial statements include your income statement, balance s heet, and cash flow statements.

Income Statement

An income statement is more commonly called a Profit and Loss statement or P&L. It shows your revenue and then subtracts your costs to show whether you turned a profit or not.

In developing your income statement, you need to devise assumptions. For example, will you meet with 5 clients per day, and offer discounts for referrals ? And will sales grow by 2% or 10% per year? As you can imagine, your choice of assumptions will greatly impact the financial forecasts for your business. As much as possible, conduct research to try to root your assumptions in reality.

Balance Sheets

Balance sheets show your assets and liabilities. While balance sheets can include much information, try to simplify them to the key items you need to know about. For instance, if you spend $50,000 on building out your IT consulting business, this will not give you immediate profits. Rather it is an asset that will hopefully help you generate profits for years to come. Likewise, if a lender writes you a check for $50,000, you don’t need to pay it back immediately. Rather, that is a liability you will pay back over time.

Cash Flow Statement

Your cash flow statement will help determine how much money you need to start or grow your business, and ensure you never run out of money. What most entrepreneurs and business owners don’t realize is that you can turn a profit but run out of money and go bankrupt. 

When creating your Income Statement and Balance Sheets be sure to include several of the key costs needed in starting or growing a IT consulting business:

• Cost of equipment and office supplies
• Payroll or salaries paid to staff
• Business insurance
• Other start-up expenses (if you’re a new business) like legal expenses, permits, computer software, and equipment

Attach your full financial projections in the appendix of your plan along with any supporting documents that make your plan more compelling. For example, you might include your office location lease or a diagram of an IT system you’ve implemented. 

Writing a business plan for your IT consulting business is a worthwhile endeavor. If you follow the template above, by the time you are done, you will truly be an expert. You will understand the IT consulting industry, your competition, and your customers. You will develop a marketing strategy and will understand what it takes to launch and grow a successful IT consulting business.  

IT Consulting Business Plan Template FAQs

What is the easiest way to complete my it consulting business plan.

Growthink's Ultimate Business Plan Template allows you to quickly and easily write your IT consulting business plan.

Where Can I Download an IT Consulting Business Plan PDF?

You can download our IT Consulting business plan PDF here. This is a business plan template you can use in PDF format.

How Do You Start an IT Consulting Business?

Starting an IT consulting business is easy with these 14 steps:

• Choose the Name for Your IT Consulting Business
• Create Your IT Consulting Business Plan
• Choose the Legal Structure for Your IT Consulting Business
• Secure Startup Funding for Your IT Consulting Business (If Needed)
• Secure a Location for Your Business
• Register Your IT Consulting Business with the IRS
• Open a Business Bank Account
• Get a Business Credit Card
• Get the Required Business Licenses and Permits
• Get Business Insurance for Your IT Consulting Business
• Buy or Lease the Right IT Consulting Business Equipment
• Develop Your IT Consulting Business Marketing Materials
• Purchase and Setup the Software Needed to Run Your IT Consulting Business
• Open for Business

Don’t you wish there was a faster, easier way to finish your IT Consulting business plan?

OR, Let Us Develop Your Plan For You

Since 1999, Growthink has developed business plans for thousands of companies who have gone on to achieve tremendous success.   Click here to see how Growthink’s business plan writers can create your business plan for you.

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Life Magazine Will Come Back to, Well, Life

The investor Josh Kushner and his wife, Karlie Kloss, have struck a deal with Barry Diller’s media company to revive it as a regular print title.

By Andrew Ross Sorkin ,  Ravi Mattu ,  Bernhard Warner ,  Sarah Kessler ,  Michael J. de la Merced ,  Lauren Hirsch and Ephrat Livni

Kushner and Kloss take over Life magazine

Life, the iconic photography-focused chronicler of the 20th century, has taken on many forms, including a weekly magazine, a website and the occasional special issue.

Now, it is set to resume regular print publication, thanks to a deal between Barry Diller’s IAC and Josh Kushner, the venture capitalist whose Thrive Capital is one of the biggest investors in OpenAI, and his wife, the entrepreneur and model Karlie Kloss.

Kushner and Kloss are buying the publication rights to Life from Dotdash Meredith, the print and digital publisher. The deal is being done through Bedford Media, the media start-up that Kloss leads as C.E.O. (The price wasn’t disclosed.)

Life was once a central part of American culture, featuring the work of renowned photographers like Robert Capa and writing by top authors. (Ernest Hemingway’s “The Old Man and the Sea” first appeared in its pages.)

But its popularity plunged after the 1970s, with the magazine largely being reduced to light reading and celebrity news. In 2008, it became an online archive with occasional newsstand editions.

The backstory: Kushner approached Diller about resurrecting Life about eight months ago, DealBook hears. His pitch was that the magazine could be resurrected in print and online — as well as in newer iterations like events and collaborations with brands and major studios.

“Life’s legacy lies in its ability to blend culture, current events and everyday life — highlighting the triumphs, challenges and unique perspectives that define us,” Kushner said in a statement.

Dotdash Meredith will remain involved: It owns the rights to Life’s vast photo and content archive, and will continue to publish special single-topic print editions.

It’s the latest high-profile effort to resurrect a legacy publication during a tough time for the media industry. Old-school publishers like Condé Nast and newer ones like Vox and Vice have struggled amid a downturn in advertising.

But Kushner, who will serve as Life’s publisher, and Kloss are betting that they have a more focused approach that will succeed. “We see Life as an uplifting and unifying voice in a chaotic media landscape,” Kloss said.

The two have already purchased other famous titles. When Bedford was formed last year, it bought the style magazine i-D from Vice. And in 2020, Kloss organized an investor consortium to buy the high-end fashion magazine W .

What’s next: Bedford will begin hiring senior editorial staff for Life, which is tentatively set to resume regular publishing early next year.

HERE’S WHAT’S HAPPENING

Disney ends its legal fight with Ron DeSantis over its Florida special tax district. The entertainment giant and the state’s governor agreed to cooperate on new growth plans for the 25,000-acre area that encompasses Walt Disney World. It was a surprising end to a bitter fight that saw DeSantis and his allies take over the district and Disney fight back with quiet efforts to lock in its own development plans.

Amazon invests $2.75 billion more into Anthropic. The funding brings the tech giant’s total stake in Anthropic, a buzzy artificial intelligence start-up, to $4 billion . It’s the latest sign of tech giants’ eagerness to pour money into promising A.I. technology. Meanwhile, Salesforce reportedly paid more than $20 million to license Albert Einstein’s image to promote its A.I. efforts.

Deal making roars back in the first quarter. About $690.2 billion worth of mergers were announced in the first three months, up 30 percent from the same time last year, according to LSEG. But that growth was driven largely by mega transactions like Capital One’s $35 billion bid for Discover Financial Services: The number of announced deals was down 31 percent year on year.

How much time will Bankman-Fried serve?

Sam Bankman-Fried is set to be sentenced today, with prosecutors requesting that the FTX founder spend decades in prison and defense lawyers arguing for just a few years.

The 32-year-old’s fate will hinge on how Judge Lewis Kaplan of the Southern District of New York weighs how much damage he caused to investors and customers, and how many of them will get their money back.

Prosecutors want Bankman-Fried to serve up to 50 years. The onetime poster child of the crypto industry was found guilty in November of seven counts of fraud and conspiracy after being charged with stealing billions of dollars to fund a lavish lifestyle and his own investments.

In a court filing this month, prosecutors called the fraud “historic,” pointing to the magnitude of losses and the tens of thousands of potential victims, including unsophisticated retail investors.

Bankman-Fried’s lawyers are calling for leniency. They have asked for a sentence of no more than six and a half years and accused the government of pursuing a “medieval” punishment of an “exceptionally brilliant” young man with much to offer society.

They have also pointed to claims by FTX’s lawyers that customers would eventually be repaid. The net harm to customers, lenders and investors, they said, is “zero.”

FTX’s current leader blasted those claims. John Ray told Judge Kaplan this month that recovering the money wasn’t guaranteed and would take work by his team. It was “categorically, callously, and demonstrably false” to say that no harm was caused, he added.

Victim restitution won’t guarantee a lighter sentence . “It’s a crime to defraud people,” Renato Mariotti, a former federal prosecutor, told DealBook. “And the sheer scale of the fraud here was large.” He expects a sentence of 20 to 30 years.

Mark Kornfeld of the law firm Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney agreed that Bankman-Fried’s role in victims regaining their money may not matter much. “He’s not the one making them whole,” he told The Financial Times .

A cheat sheet for tomorrow’s inflation report

As the S&P 500 heads into the last trading day of the quarter, the index is closing in on a fifth straight monthly gain. Driving that are hopes that the Fed will start cutting interest rates as early as June.

But new inflation data could still derail that momentum. The Commerce Department is scheduled to release the Personal Consumption Expenditures index, which is closely watched in Washington, tomorrow at 8:30 a.m. Eastern.

Economists expect another hot number . The question is, how hot ? Especially strong data could prod the Fed to delay lowering borrowing costs, and affect the number of cuts this year.

Here’s what to watch for:

Headline P.C.E. for February is expected to show a 2.5 percent year-on-year gain, a slight increase from the January report.

Core P.C.E., which excludes volatile food and fuel prices, is forecast to come in at 2.8 percent on an annualized basis, roughly in line with the previous month.

Analysts will watch for signs that services inflation — spending on things like airfare, health care and rent — has begun to ease. Consumer spending in these areas has remained high in recent months.

Fed hawks are weighing in ahead of the report. Christopher Waller , a Fed governor, said in a speech yesterday that the central bank should hold off on cutting rates until he sees “at least a couple months of better inflation data.” (The title of his talk: “There’s Still No Rush.”)

Investors sold off Treasury notes after Waller’s comments. But the futures market this morning is still penciling in three rate cuts this year, more or less in line with the Fed’s most recent forecast .

“If the leadership doesn’t execute a beautiful deleveraging, China will have a Japanese-style lost decade with Marxist characteristics.”

— Ray Dalio , the founder of Bridgewater Associates. In a lengthy post on LinkedIn, the hedge fund billionaire agreed with President Xi Jinping of China about an imminent century of extraordinary change and offered suggestions to help Beijing deal with its economic problems.

The A.I. lobby wants to talk about China

As policymakers try to figure out how to regulate the fast-growing artificial intelligence industry, Silicon Valley has ramped up its lobbying efforts to shape the debate.

Its latest tactic? Tapping into growing worries about China.

The Biden administration is doubling down on China’s tech threat. That’s evident by recent moves, such as signaling its support for legislation that could see TikTok banned in the U.S.

China is producing more top researchers , though the U.S. has a big lead on investments and breakthroughs.

Silicon Valley is trying to capitalize on the mood. On May 1, tech leaders — including Palantir’s Alex Karp, Sequoia Capital’s Roelof Botha and Vinod Khosla of Khosla Ventures — are expected to attend a conference in Washington with dozens of lawmakers, like Speaker Mike Johnson, Republican of Louisiana.

Jacob Helberg, an adviser to Palantir and a member of a congressional commission on China’s threats to national security, is organizing the event.

For tech companies, Washington’s focus on China could be good for business. “The other side of slowing down China is minimal friction and regulation for U.S. companies,” Amba Kak, a former senior adviser on A.I. to the F.T.C., told The Times.

The event comes as the industry is ramping up its lobbying efforts. More than 350 organizations reported lobbying the federal government on A.I. issues during the first nine months of 2023, spending a total of $569 million on the effort, according to OpenSecrets .

But a Facebook co-founder is reportedly making a different case. Dustin Moskovitz , a major Democratic donor, met with President Biden last month to share his own arguments about A.I. safety, according to Puck.

Moskovitz and others have warned that “mitigating the risk of extinction from A.I. should be a global priority.” His nonprofit group, Open Philanthropy, has advocated regulations like software export controls and licensing requirements for certain A.I. models.

THE SPEED READ

The British hedge fund mogul Chris Hohn led Institutional Investor’s latest Rich List with a $2.9 billion haul last year, followed by Millennium’s Izzy Englander and Citadel’s Ken Griffin. (II)

Liberty Media, the owner of Formula One, is reportedly in talks to buy the parent company of MotoGP , the motorcycle racing competition, for more than 4 billion euros (about $4.3 billion). (FT)

Josh Harris and David Blitzer, whose company owns the Philadelphia 76ers, have formed Unrivaled Sports to invest in youth-focused sports, with backing from the Chernin Group. (Unrivaled Sports)

A member of Qatar’s royal family invested roughly $50 million in Newsmax during the Trump administration. Staff at the conservative news publication were reportedly told to soften coverage of the country before and after the deal. (WaPo)

Joe Lieberman , the longtime Democratic senator and vice-presidential nominee who most recently helped lead the independent political group No Labels, died yesterday. He was 82. (NYT)

Best of the rest

The credit rating agency S&P downgraded Paramount Global’s debt to junk, citing declines in its business. (Bloomberg)

A new study by Boston Consulting Group and the nonprofit group Moms First found that child care benefits for employees essentially pay for themselves. (Axios)

“Has the Luxury E-Commerce Bubble Burst ?” (NYT)

Daniel Kahneman , whose pioneering work on behavioral economics earned him a Nobel, died yesterday. He was 90. (NYT)

We’d like your feedback! Please email thoughts and suggestions to [email protected] .

Andrew Ross Sorkin is a columnist and the founder and editor at large of DealBook. He is a co-anchor of CNBC’s "Squawk Box" and the author of “Too Big to Fail.” He is also a co-creator of the Showtime drama series "Billions." More about Andrew Ross Sorkin

Ravi Mattu is the managing editor of DealBook, based in London. He joined The New York Times in 2022 from the Financial Times, where he held a number of senior roles in Hong Kong and London. More about Ravi Mattu

Bernhard Warner is a senior editor for DealBook, a newsletter from The Times, covering business trends, the economy and the markets. More about Bernhard Warner

Sarah Kessler is an editor for the DealBook newsletter and writes features on business and how workplaces are changing. More about Sarah Kessler

Michael de la Merced joined The Times as a reporter in 2006, covering Wall Street and finance. Among his main coverage areas are mergers and acquisitions, bankruptcies and the private equity industry. More about Michael J. de la Merced

Lauren Hirsch joined The Times from CNBC in 2020, covering deals and the biggest stories on Wall Street. More about Lauren Hirsch

Ephrat Livni reports from Washington on the intersection of business and policy for DealBook. Previously, she was a senior reporter at Quartz, covering law and politics, and has practiced law in the public and private sectors.   More about Ephrat Livni

Exclusive: Tesla scraps low-cost car plans amid fierce Chinese EV competition

• Entry-level Tesla car won’t be built, three sources tell Reuters
• Tesla to focus on self-driving taxis instead, sources said
• Strategy shift comes as Tesla faces competition from China EV makers including BYD

‘HALT ALL FURTHER ACTIVITIES’

Running late.

Stay up to date with the latest news, trends and innovations that are driving the global automotive industry with the Reuters Auto File newsletter. Sign up here.

Reporting by Hyunjoo Jin in San Francisco, Norihiko Shirouzu in Austin and Ben Klayman in Detroit. Editing by Marla Dickerson and Brian Thevenot.

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. , opens new tab

Thomson Reuters

Is the Detroit Bureau Chief and North American Transportation Editor, responsible for a team of about 10 reporters covering everything from autos to aerospace to airlines to outer space.

Paramount could acquire Skydance in $5 bln all-stock deal, WSJ reports

A deal between Paramount Global and Skydance Media could see the media conglomerate acquire the independent studio

Intel’s turnaround plan won’t bear fruit anytime soon

There’s more news on Intel’s plan to reinvent itself as a manufacturer of other companies’ chips—and it’s not particularly encouraging for anyone who has been hoping for a quick turnaround.

The legacy processor giant yesterday unveiled a new financial reporting structure that accounts for the effective separation of its chip development (Products) and manufacturing (Foundry) businesses, which it announced in February . And in doing so, it filed a retrospective revision to its 10-K for the last quarter of 2023, revealing growing losses in its Foundry unit—nearly $7 billion in 2023, up from just over $5 billion in each of the preceding two years.

The revelation knocked Intel’s share price by over 7%, wiping more than $13 billion off the company’s value, and CEO Pat Gelsinger is desperate to reassure investors that Intel Foundry will be profitable. But not just yet. Indeed, this year will probably pan out even worse, he acknowledged yesterday, before an improvement leading to break-even in 2027.

There are clear reasons for this slow progress.

Intel’s only really big Foundry deal that’s been announced thus far is a recently won contract ( reportedly  worth up to $15 billion) to make Microsoft’s custom chips, which it will start doing using its upcoming 18A manufacturing process, due to roll out by the end of this year. But Intel gave itself a disadvantage by last year deciding to forego the use of ASML’s bleeding-edge extreme ultraviolet (EUV) chipmaking machines.

Gelsinger has since reversed that decision but, for now, Intel is forced to outsource a sizeable chunk of its production to Taiwan’s TSMC, its biggest rival in the foundry game. “In the post EUV era, we see that we’re very competitive now on price, performance [and] back to leadership,” he told investors yesterday, as  quoted by Reuters . “In the pre-EUV era we carried a lot of costs and [were] uncompetitive.” Unfortunately, even if Intel Foundry reaches the 40% gross margin it’s forecasting for 2030, that’s still behind TSMC’s margin, which was 53% in Q4.

Speaking of TSMC, the market leader just had to pause production due to Taiwan’s biggest earthquake in a quarter century. It says the stoppages were procedural, and workers have already returned to some factory lines, but analysts have pointed out that any disruption to TSMC’s operations could have spoiled entire batches of chips. A lot of companies will be nervously keeping their eye on the situation.

More news below.

David Meyer

Correction, April 3, 2024:  This article was updated to correct information about the chronology of Intel’s rollout of EUV technology and to clarify the reported value of Intel’s Microsoft deal.

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Net neutrality looms. The U.S. will soon get its net neutrality rule back, with the Federal Communications Commission setting April 25 as the date for what everyone expects to be a vote of approval on the matter, Reuters reports . The rule bans internet service providers from prioritizing the traffic of certain online service providers over that of others. The Trump-era FCC ditched the original net neutrality rule, which had been introduced by the agency in the Obama era. 

Truth Social funding revelation. Trump Media, the parent company of former President Donald Trump’s Truth Social platform, only made it through to its recent IPO thanks to loans in 2022 that partly came from a Russian-American businessman named Anton Postolnikov, the Guardian reports . Postolnikov is reportedly the nephew of Vladimir Putin ally Aleksander Smirnov (not to be confused with the former FBI informant of the same name, who has been charged with lying about the Biden family). Postolnikov is also under investigation in the U.S. in connection with alleged money laundering and insider trading in the lead-up to the SPAC deal through which Trump Media went public.

Yahoo buys Artifact. Instagram cofounders Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger released the Artifact AI-powered news app at the start of last year, forecasted its imminent demise at the start of this year, and now they’ve sold the tech. Yahoo is the buyer, and it doesn’t get Systrom and Krieger as part of the deal, The Verge reports —though they will hang around as special advisors.

ON OUR FEED

“Nelson Peltz should definitely be on the Disney board!”

— Elon Musk throws his weight behind activist investor Peltz in his proxy contest with Bob Iger’s Disney, which will be settled today at Disney’s annual meeting. Musk has been furious with Disney and Iger since the entertainment giant yanked its advertising from X.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

Amazon is removing its cashierless Just Walk Out system from its Fresh grocery stores , by Bloomberg

Tesla reports its first year-over-year sales decline since the pandemic—and its shares are plummeting , by Marco Quiroz-Gutierrez

Slack’s chief product officer steps down, leaving none of the messaging service’s top early executives remaining , by Kylie Robison and Alexandra Sternlicht

Singers and stars try to pump the brakes on AI, as 200 artists including Billie Eilish and Jon Bon Jovi sign open letter denouncing unmitigated innovation , by Chloe Berger

The ‘Meta AI mafia’ brain drain continues with at least 3 more high-level departures , by Sharon Goldman

Is Microsoft’s $100 billion ‘Stargate’ OpenAI supercomputer AI’s ‘Star Wars’ moment? , by Jeremy Kahn

BEFORE YOU GO

Browser with downloadable AIs. The browser firm Opera, which tends to be more innovative than popular, will let users download large language models such as Meta’s Llama and Google’s Gemma, to be run locally on their computers, through the Opera One browser. TechCrunch reports that the feature will offer over 150 AI models, each of which will be bigger than 2GB. Opera VP Jan Standal: “It is expected that they may reduce in size as they get more and more specialized for the tasks at hand.” Meanwhile, the privacy-first mobile browser Brave also just integrated an AI assistant that taps into a choice of different LLMs.

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Two plead guilty to insider trading related to Trump Media merger

Two men pleaded guilty on Wednesday to insider trading in securities in the company that ultimately took former U.S. President  Donald Trump’s  media business public.

Michael Shvartsman, 53, head of Miami-based venture capital firm Rocket One Capital, and his brother Gerald Shvartsman, 46, each pleaded guilty to one count of securities fraud before U.S. District Judge Lewis Liman in Manhattan.

Rocket One’s chief investment officer, Bruce Garelick, is scheduled to face trial on related charges on April 29.

Prosecutors charged the trio  last year with illegally trading on inside information about Trump Media & Technology Group’s plan to go public through a merger with a blank-check company. TMTG operates Truth Social, Trump’s main social media platform.

Prosecutors said the trio signed confidentiality agreements in June 2021 when they were approached to become early investors in Digital World Acquisition, the blank-check company. The agreements required them to keep information they learned confidential and not trade the company’s securities in the open market, prosecutors said.

After hearing the company was in merger talks with TMTG, prosecutors said the trio tipped others and bought Digital World securities, selling them after the deal was announced on Oct. 20, 2021, to make a total of $22 million in illegal profit.

Michael and Gerald Shvartsman said in court that they knew what they were doing was wrong when they traded on nonpublic information.

“I’ve made a terrible mistake,” Gerald Shvartsman said at the hearing.

“Insider trading is cheating, plain and simple,” U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said in a statement after the pleas.

The Shvartsmans are scheduled to be sentenced on July 17. Securities fraud carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, but any sentence would be imposed by the judge based on a range of factors. The average prison sentence in federal fraud cases in the U.S. last year was around two years.

TMTG was publicly listed in late March, and its shares have been on a  wild ride fueled by speculators  betting on enthusiasm for Trump, the Republican presidential candidate in  November’s election .

The stock shed early gains this week as Truth Social’s parent company disclosed it had lost more than $58 million in 2023.

TMTG shares were trading at around $51.60 on Wednesday morning, making Trump’s stake worth about $4 billion, though he is not allowed to sell or borrow against it for six months.

Trump Media is also embroiled in legal battles in Delaware and Florida with co-founders Wesley Moss and Andrew Litinsky, who have accused the company of trying to improperly dilute their stake. Trump Media has argued they failed to earn their shares and seeks to strip them of their ownership.

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