3 Considerations Before Writing Your Business Plan What Plan Format Should You Use? Writing Your Commercial Cultivation Business Plan Let’s Create Your Beauty App Business Plan The marijuana industry is booming, and there is no evidence to suggest that it will slow down any time soon. As of today, there are thirty-three states that have passed laws legalizing the plant – either medically or recreationally. With the industry driving over $52 billion in sales each year, it’s no surprise that more marijuana businesses are launching and more entrepreneurs are turning to commercial cultivation. Wherever there is a high potential for profit, investors are looking to get in the game with their capital. Before you can secure a partnership with them though, you will need to write a strong and convincing commercial cultivation business plan. Marijuana as a legal industry is still relatively new and only a handful of investors understand the ins and outs of this sector. Before considering an investment, investors may ask questions that they wouldn’t ask startups in other industries. They also may be highly skeptical of any claims that aren’t validated with hard evidence. At ThinkLions, we have worked with dozens of marijuana-related startups. We have learned exactly what investors in this industry look for when considering an investment. In this post, we will give you everything you need to know to write the most effective commercial cultivation business plan. 3 Considerations Before Writing Your Business Plan Writing a business plan for any industry is challenging, but cannabis entrepreneurs must make special considerations before putting their plan on paper. The overall perception of the industry is widely changing, but many investors are still hesitant to add a marijuana-based business to their portfolio.  In the following sections, we will explore several factors that cannabis businesses must contemplate to write a winning business plan. Understanding Legalities In most states, the cannabis industry is still in its infancy. As public perception shifts back and forth, laws continue to change. From growing operations and dispensaries to oil brands and beyond, governments are still figuring out how to properly regulate the industry. This can present a major issue for investors. Unclear laws can turn cannabis businesses into extremely risky investments. To convince investors that they are making a sound investment, you’ll need to give them the assurance that all legalities have been considered and overcome. Make sure you know your state’s laws down to the most minute detail. Find out which licenses you will need to legally operate your business and the steps that need to be taken to obtain those licenses. The more you understand how the cannabis industry is regulated in your region, the more effective you will be in developing your business strategy. Finding The Right Facility When operating a commercial cultivation operation, finding the right facility is critical. In most circumstances, regulations may only allow commercial-level cultivation within defined zones. Even when operating in a legally defined zone, problems can still arise. Neighbors may complain or even…

The Brewery Business Plan Format Special Considerations Need Help With Your Brewery Business Plan? There is no question that there has been an increase in the number of craft breweries around the United States over the last several years. In 2018 alone, 1,049 new breweries opened while 219 closed their doors forever. With over 25.9 million barrels of craft beer sold in 2018, commanding over $27.6 billion in revenue, there’s no wonder that entrepreneurs are launching more breweries than ever. Unfortunately, setting up a brewery can be expensive. Often, entrepreneurs must seek the funds of investors to support the launch of their craft beer business. To meet and attract investors, they need a strong brewery business plan that supports their case and showcases the potential of their idea.Writing a business plan for a brewery is a bit different than writing for other types of businesses. Even when compared to other food & drink venues, breweries have several unique factors that should be addressed as a strategy is devised. In the following post, we will explain everything you need to know about creating an awesome investor-ready brewery business plan. The Brewery Business Plan Format The layout for a brewery plan will typically follow that of a standard business plan. However, because of the unique nature of a brewery business, the approach to each section may be considerably different. Here are a few tips as you write through each section of your brewery business plan. Executive Summary Seed and pre-seed investors receive business plans constantly, and often, they don’t make it through the first few pages. The executive summary is probably the most critical part of your document. Essentially, this summary is the pitch that sells investors on reading the rest of the plan!With so many breweries launching, your executive summary must effectively explain what makes your brewery special. After reading your summary, investors should be able to clearly recognize what factors make your brewery unique and why consumers would choose to patronize your establishment over another.In general, your executive summary should sum up the major concepts that are explained throughout your plan. If delivered successfully, investors will be excited to continue reading your plan. *Tip* Although the executive summary is presented first in your brewery business plan, you should write it last. This way, you can ensure that it follows your strategy perfectly and that it mentions all notable details. Brewery Details This section introduces readers to your brewery concept and the products that it will offer. There are four major parts to a brewery details section: 1) Description:Explain how the brewery concept was conceived and the milestones that have been achieved to date. Milestones can include things such as finding a location, securing advisors, or establishing beneficial relationships. 2) Mission Statement:Write a statement that explains what your brewery stands for, who it serves, its beliefs towards quality craft beer production, and the type of experience you hope to provide to guests. 3) Products & Services:List out the different products and…

Important Coffee Shop Business Plan Considerations Critical Elements of a Coffee Shop Business Plan Writing Your Investor-Ready Business Plan Over the last fifteen years or so, the country has seen a major shift in how we prefer our coffee. Gone are the days where we flocked to the gas station for a cup of morning joe, adding as much sugar as possible to mask the terrible quality. Today, we increasingly appreciate high-quality and even artisanal coffee choices. Coffee shops have become a comfortable environment for work and socialization. While coffee shops are popping up everywhere, launching one can be expensive. The first step to getting your shop off the ground is to write a fantastic coffee shop business plan so you can raise the funding you need. Many entrepreneurs and business plan writers approach a coffee shop business plan the same way they approach any other business plan. However, coffee shops operate differently than other businesses, even other food businesses. In the following post, we will explain these differences and teach you everything you need to know to write the most effective plan for your coffee shop venture. Important Coffee Shop Business Plan Considerations Coffee shops operate uniquely when compared to other types of venues. On one hand, they are a provider of awesome coffee and snack products. On the other hand, they often operate as lounges, social hangouts, or even remote working environments. Here are three important questions you should address when writing your coffee shop business plan. How Can You Maximize Customer Spend? Obviously, your cafe will serve coffee. However, single cups of coffee will only get your business so far. The most successful coffee shops are those that are able to maximize the amount of customer spend by providing a wide variety of products. Whether its espresso products like cappuccinos and iced coffee or food items like bagels and muffins, investors want to know how you will diversify your offering. Once you have decided what products you will offer, use research to estimate what portion of consumers will buy additional products. Represent these projections with a financial model to substantially strengthen your coffee shop business plan. What Is Your Competitive Advantage? There are over 20,000 coffee shops and cafes currently operating in America. These shops are each vying for their share of the $10 billion per year industry. In any market where a single coffee shop exists, several usually exist. Competition in this industry is heavy, and those who don’t manage to stand out often fail. Investors want to know what makes you different. If three coffee shops existed within the same neighborhood, what makes people want to stop at yours? Identify the competitors that serve your market within the same region. Perform a competitive analysis to recognize their strengths and weaknesses. Then, complete a SWOT analysis process to identify potential opportunities and threats. With so many coffee shops seeking funding, you’ll need a clear advantage to impress investors. Whether it’s a higher-quality product, a better atmosphere,…

State of Healthcare and mHealth Startups Types of Healthcare Apps 3 Tips To Writing Your Medical App Business Plan Putting Your Medical App Business Plan Together While technology has helped progress many industries, the medical and healthcare industries may be the most important. From tracking health to accessing medical help quicker, a variety of new healthcare apps have entered the market over the last two decades. As a result, the amount of investment going into these types of apps have attracted hundreds of millions of dollars in investment. However, before an entrepreneur can raise investment, they need to first create a strong medical app business plan.Although healthcare app business plans are very similar to other types of app business plans, there are many differences that you must be aware of when writing one. In this post, we will provide several tips for writing a strong business plan for a medical app startup.  State of Healthcare and mHealth Startups As of 2018, there were an estimated 318,000 health apps on the market with over 200 new apps being added each day. This was double the number of health apps that existed in 2015. With a total projected value of over $28.3 billion and an expectation of reaching $102 billion by 2023; there’s no question why investors are so attracted innovation in this industry. For startups, these investments are necessary. In a study of 2,400 mobile health stakeholders, the average cost of development for a mobile health app (from conception to launch) was around $425,000. There was a large portion of these startups though (36%), that spent less than $25,000 up until launch, and 12% spent over $500,000. In other words, for a startup to be successful in this space, some level of investor capital will be necessary.  However, with so many new startups entering the market, the competition for investment is fierce. Investors want to invest in highly innovative health tech startups that are solving real challenges and have the potential to affect millions of users.  Types of Healthcare Apps There are many different types of healthcare apps to provide a variety of solutions. In general, these apps fall into one of the following categories:  Clinical & Administrative : hese are applications used by healthcare staff to manage records, review charts, keep track of patients, and more. Monitoring and Tracking : oftware that monitors patients in real-time, such as heart monitoring, blood glucose monitoring and more. Locators, Appointments & Reminders : Includes apps that allow patients to search for healthcare providers, set appointments, set reminders to take medicine, and more. Lifestyle : Includes apps related to living a healthy lifestyle like fitness apps, nutrition, and food apps, and more. 3 Tips To Writing Your Medical App Business Plan When writing a medical app business plan, there are several considerations that should be made. These considerations will help to ensure that your business plan stands out among the competition and makes the biggest impact among readers. Team & Advisors For any startup, investors want…

Important Game App Statistics 3 Important Game App Business Plan Considerations Ready To Write Your Game App Business Plan? Mobile games are one of the healthiest app industries, generating over $50 billion per year in sales. However, app investors know that only 4% of mobile games will earn more than $1 million. On average, mobile games only earn around $3,000. For game app startups seeking investment, competition is extreme. To gain the attention of investors, you’ll need to stand out and a strong game app business plan can give you the edge that you need.  Game app startups don’t operate the same way as other startups. Providing pure entertainment, these games compete with some of the largest global industries including console games, computer games, and even other entertainment options like film and more.  Important Game App Statistics Why would a startup want to produce games? The easy answer is - the potential for revenue is immense. Check out these statistics related to the mobile game app industry: As of 2019, mobile is the fastest-growing games segment. Games represent around 10% of the amount of time spent on apps by users. On average, each U.S. mobile device has 8 mobile games installed and smartphone users play an average of 2 to 5 games per month. Special considerations that should be made when writing a plan for your beauty tech startup include: These stats are great for game creators, but even getting to the launch phase can be difficult and expensive. Super simple games can cost up to $50,000 to build while complex games can cost $100,000 or more. This doesn’t even include the cost of marketing the game and acquiring users. Securing investors can make it much easier to bring your mobile game to life. In this post, we will provide several tips on building a fantastic game app business plan that wins over investors.  3 Important Game App Business Plan Considerations Although writing a business plan for a game shares many similarities as writing for apps in other industries, there are some important differences. The following considerations should be made when writing an effective game app business plan.  Mobile Game vs Mobile Game Startup Before you start writing about what you’re building, it’s important to decide exactly what you’re building. Developing a mobile game is not the same thing as developing a mobile game app startup. A mobile game is a one-off project. It’s built and launched by a game developer, and once it runs its course, it fades away. A mobile game startup, however, is a business that produces mobile games. These startups understand what makes games successful and are able to create a viable formula to bring multiple games to success. While one game is at its prime in the market, developers are working on the next game; maintaining a constant flow of new products and developments. Every mobile game startup will produce at least one mobile game, but not every publisher of a mobile game is a mobile game startup.…

The State of the Food Truck Industry Food Truck Business Plan - The Format Food Truck Business Plan Considerations Investor Questions - What To Expect Putting Your Food Truck Business Plan Together Food businesses have been changed tremendously over the last several years. Although there was a time in which owning a food business meant you needed a huge facility and a ton of equipment to succeed, times have changed. Today, food trucks are all the rage and there are many investors now betting on the industry’s success. For startups, this means easier access to funds - but before you can strike a deal, you’ll need an effective food truck business plan. Food truck business plans share many of the same elements as a plan for a restaurant, but there are several special considerations that must be addressed. In this post, we will explain how to write a fantastic business plan for starting a food truck. The State of the Food Truck Industry Although still claiming only a small chunk of the $799 billion restaurant industry, the food truck industry has grown rapidly over the last decade. Food trucks, which had very little popularity outside of a few cities in 2008, have grown to generate over $2.7 billion in annual revenue (as of 2017).  Food trucks are much easier to launch than a full restaurant. However, bringing a food truck concept to life still isn’t quite as simple as many expect. These complexities need to be addressed in your food van business plan. According to studies by Food Truck Nation, starting and maintaining a food truck for one year requires entrepreneurs to complete 45 government-mandated procedures and spend over $28,000 on legal compliance, on average.  This doesn’t include the cost of the truck itself, equipment, staffing, food costs, or marketing. All in, an entrepreneur can expect to spend upwards of $125,000 just getting to the first day of launch. It’s no surprise that so many food truck entrepreneurs seek the capital of investors to get their idea off of the ground.  Get Our Food Truck Business Plan Template Here Food Truck Business Plan - The Format To ensure that your food truck plan includes all the necessary information, it is best to use a standard format. The following food truck outline will ensure that you capture each area that an investor will expect to see. Executive Summary A food truck business plan executive summary is the most important section of your entire document. Although it appears first in the food truck business proposal, it should be written last - after every other section has been completed.  To create a strong executive summary, you must explain all the most important points of your food truck business while maintaining minimal length. An executive summary should be one page ideally, but should definitely never exceed two pages.  The goal of a food truck business plan executive summary is to persuade readers to continue reading the document. Give them enough information to build their interest,…

The State of Fitness Apps & Software Fitness App Business Plan Tips Ready to Write Your Fitness App Business Plan? Over the last several decades, the fitness and exercise industries have exploded. From fitness equipment to home fitness videos, millions of consumers have put their money towards better physical health. It’s no surprise that since the global boom of smartphones, fitness apps have led the market as one of the most popular app categories. However, successful apps take funds to develop and launch. If you are going to attract investors to your exercise tech startup, you’ll need a strong fitness app business plan. Writing a business plan for an app is much different than writing for other businesses, like a brick & mortar store or even a web startup. Furthermore, fitness apps are quite different from other types of apps and special considerations must be made when writing a fitness app startup plan. The State of Fitness Apps & Software Today, there are thousands of apps that fall into the exercise and fitness categories. With the introduction of smart hardware like the Apple Watch, FitBit, and even smart workout equipment, smart tech has taken the fitness industry to new heights that were never imagined before. Some of the most popular categories of fitness apps include: Workout/Exercise Apps : These include training apps that showcase different workouts, workout scheduling apps, weight tracking apps, and more. Activity Tracking Apps : These are fitness apps that allow users to track their daily activity, such as the number of steps taken, number of laps swam, miles biked, and etc. Nutrition Apps : These include apps such as meal planning apps, calorie-tracking apps, diet apps, and more. Fitness App Business Plan Tips A fitness app business plan shares many similarities with other app business plans, but there are a few special considerations that need to be made. Consider the following tips as you begin to develop your business plan. Fitness Customers Behave Differently When writing a fitness app business plan, it’s important to understand that customers in this industry behave much differently than in other industries. Unfortunately, the majority of people who commit to a fitness regiment, fitness product, diet, or fitness app, only stay committed for a short amount of time. This means that your app metrics may be less attractive for fitness apps than for other apps. For instance, retention will likely be lower than other types of apps on average since consumers may only stick to their objectives for a limited amount of time. Although a handful of consumers may remain loyal to your fitness app, many will go from one app to another - hoping to find a ‘magic pill’ for their fitness success. As you are writing your exercise app business plan, be sure to research how fitness consumers behave. Use this research as you develop your marketing plan, operational strategy, and financial model. Hardware Integrations & Partnerships Are Key The fitness industry has transformed since the introduction of mobile…

How Do Business Plans Differ for Beauty Apps? Three Tips To Writing A Better Beauty App Business Plan Let’s Create Your Beauty App Business Plan The beauty industry has been one of the world’s largest industries for generations. It isn’t a surprise that the popularity of this industry has continued to blossom in today’s mobile-forward world. This means, there are many new beauty tech startups seeking investment today. If you’re going to secure seed money, you’ll need a beauty app business plan that impresses investors. The beauty app market continues to grow. Today, there are many beauty-based software categories including virtual makeover apps, makeup simulators, salon scheduling apps, on-demand spa apps and more. In this post, we’ll explain what you need to know to create a beauty app business plan that wins. How Do Business Plans Differ for Beauty Apps? While business plans for this industry often follow the format as other app business plans, there are a few differences. Special considerations that should be made when writing a plan for your beauty tech startup include: Partnerships – Brand, influencer and product partnerships play heavily into beauty apps. For example, a makeup simulator app may have a partnership with a large makeup brand; allowing them to digitize the brand’s products for their specific application. If you have partnerships, detail them in your business plan. If you don’t, consider whether opportunities exist for partnerships and try to secure one! Cost of Acquisition vs User Value– Some types of beauty apps are able to monetize themselves quickly (such as on-demand spa apps). Other types, like makeup simulators, can be tougher to monetize and may rely on ads for revenue. It’s important to balance how much it costs to acquire a user vs. how much you can potentially earn over their customer lifetime. Proper research will ensure that you are able to put together a strong financial model. Competitive Advantage– Every single day, the beauty app market becomes more and more saturated as new players make their way into the app stores. If you want to win, your business plan should show how your beauty app exceeds the abilities of other apps on the market. What makes it different? Moreso, what makes it better? Three Tips To Writing A Better Beauty App Business Plan Our business plan writers have helped several beauty app startups to raise early seed funding. Here are three expert tips to ensure that you write a beauty app business plan that stands out amongst the competition. Detail Founder Experience Breaking into the beauty tech industry is challenging. Succeeding in it is even tougher. Some beauty apps are published by leading makeup and product brands that already have millions of fans and followers. Knowing the obstacles faced by entrepreneurs in this industry, investors will want to see a breadth of experience among the team. In your beauty app business plan, describe the backgrounds of each member – their experiences with beauty customers and products, and the obstacles they faced that…

What’s Different About Food App Business Plans? Writing a Winning Food App Business Plan From recipes to meal planners, cooking apps are becoming more popular every day. With a rise in popularity, more food tech startups are launching. As a result, hungry investors are putting their money where their mouth is (no pun). If you’re a cooking/food app startup founder, you’re in luck - the market is ripe. However, you’ll need a strong cooking app business plan to make the biggest splash when approaching investors. READY TO BUILD YOUR COOKING APP BUSINESS PLAN? OUR AWESOME CONSULTANTS CAN HELP CHECK OUT OUR PROCESS In this post, we will examine three of the most important considerations to make when writing a cooking app business plan. What’s Different About Food App Business Plans? Writing a business plan for a mobile app startup takes different considerations than for other industries. Even in the app business planning space, food app plans differ from other types of apps. Here are three important questions to consider when writing a business plan for a cooking app. How Will You Monetize It? There are many cooking apps on the market, and competition is fierce. Some of the top cooking apps were launched by television networks and food personalities who use their app as a marketing tool as opposed to a revenue generator. With so many options out there, you’ll need to be clever in how you choose to monetize. If you’re offering meal recipes through the app, there are already dozens of free recipe apps – why would they pay for yours? Explaining your monetization strategy will be important to writing a strong cooking app business plan. Consider which strategy makes the most sense for your particular application – whether its monthly subscriptions, in-app sales, or mobile app advertising. How Will You Promote It? Every business plan needs a marketing strategy, and your cooking app business plan needs a strong and viable strategy to launch and penetrate the market. Many of your competitors will already have a platform. Food Network’s app, for instance, won’t need to implement too many strategies since they can just launch commercials for their app on their network. Likewise, Food.com’s app receives a ton of traffic and downloads from their community of website users that they have accumulated over the years. Unless you already have a strong platform, you will need an effective marketing strategy. This strategy will need to be detailed in your cooking app business plan. How Will You Scale It? Investors don’t just want to see how viable a product is, but they also want to know how scalable it is. For many cooking apps, scalability is limited. Sure, a recipe application can keep adding new recipes but will it help increase or manage growth in customers or customer demand? Millions of people cook each and every day and tools that help individuals cook better are widely adopted. However, many apps in this space are unable to succeed due to the wide…

Three Important Tips for Dating App Business Plans Need A Dating App Business Plan? The dating app market is extremely competitive. Securing investor funding to get your dating app off the ground can be difficult. If you’re going to impress investors, you’ll need an amazing dating app business plan. Three Important Tips for Dating App Business Plans Writing a mobile app business plan is drastically different than doing so for other types of businesses. There are many considerations that need to be made and the overall business plan format may differ as well. Furthermore, dating apps have complexities that are not found in other software categories. At ThinkLions, our business plan writers have developed dozens of plans for successful dating app startups. There are three major factors that must be considered when writing a dating app business plan. Making Accurate Metric Assumptions Dating applications operate much differently than other types of apps. Although free dating apps often generate a large number of downloads, they also have low retention rates. The average retention rate for dating apps is fractional when compared to other app categories – such as social media. A successful dating app business plan must showcase realistic assumptions, from the duration spent on these apps by customers each day to the price that they are willing to pay to use it. Defining A Competitive Advantage In order to gain the attention of investors, your dating app plan needs to show how your app is different from the hundreds of other dating apps on the market. Apps like Tinder and Bumble already have millions of users. What is it about your app that will make singles want to use it for their dating experience instead of the solutions they are already used to? Competitive advantage is key to a successful dating app plan and will be the main component that drives the startup’s overall strategy. Financial Modeling Proper financial modeling uses real data to make educated assumptions about user behavior. Modeling a dating app can be challenging since many dating apps attract a wide demographic – and customers behave differently. Some people use dating apps to go on dates multiple times per week, while others download the app and never meet a single person. Proper research is key to effectively producing a dating app financial model. Many dating apps have experienced problems when seeking to monetize. Showcasing a well-researched monetization strategy through a financial model can give your dating app an advantage when meeting with potential investors. READY TO BUILD YOUR BUSINESS PLAN? OUR AWESOME CONSULTANTS CAN HELP CHECK OUT OUR PROCESS Need A Dating App Business Plan? If you need help writing your startup plan, our expert team of business plan writers is here to help. We are the country’s leading experts in developing successful app business plans and pitch decks, and our clients have raised millions. Contact us today to speak with one of our dating app business plan consultants! by Mike SimsMike Sims is a passionate startup…