If you’re starting to plan for your business, you probably don’t know where to begin. Luckily, there are plenty of resources out there that can help you get started – including a business plan course.
These courses – particularly business plan online courses – can help you learn how to create an effective plan for your company and give you the information that you need in order to make it happen.
To make a real difference, though, the challenge will be to find the best for your own specific needs. There are a lot of different resources out there, each with very specific focuses, which means that not all of them will be right for you.
So, in this post, we’ll go over what to look for in a business plan course to get the results that you want.
Shameless plug! This article is part of a series of articles on how to write a business plan and aims at giving you hints on how to do just that!
We make about eighty percent of our content free to entrepreneurs and small business owners just like you – that even includes a free online business plan template with a free mini-course, by the way.
If you need more, then our Business Plan Builder is the business plan course you have been looking for!
That being said, let’s go back to our topic of the day: what to look for in a business plan course to get the results you want?
What is a Business Plan Course?
A business plan course is a group of lessons, exercises, and guides that will walk you through the process of creating a business plan. These courses can take a variety of forms, and they come in many different price ranges.
You can expect to pay anywhere from $50 to $5,000 for a business plan course! Depending, of course, on the length and the level of detail that is included in the course.
Some courses are designed to help you create a general business plan, while others are designed specifically for startups. What you get out of a business plan course will depend on which course you choose.
Some look like in-person business plan classes with tutors, and other students and tons of materials you’ll (probably) have to figure out how to use on your own.
Alternatively, online and digitalized business plan courses can give you everything you need – including tools and video tutorials! – to get things done at your own pace, for a much cheaper price than what you would pay for in an in-person format.
Either way, a business plan course is great for learning the basics of business planning. If you’ve never created a business plan before, you can use a course as a way to get your feet wet.
You’ll be able to find out what the general process is and learn some basic terminology and concepts that you can use to build your plan. And you’ll be able to get started in no time!
Why You Should Write A Business Plan?
Back to the basics, though, why should you write a business plan in the first place?
Some people might wonder why they should bother writing a plan if they don’t plan to actively seek funding. Still, the truth is that a business plan isn’t just a tool for raising money.
It’s also a roadmap that will help you get your company off the ground and make sure that you’re heading in the right direction.
It’s a tool that can help you come up with financial projections that make sense and allow you to center your development on a financial perspective that makes sense.
And it’s a tool that gives you everything you need to build a storytelling powerhouse capable of bringing in new partners while turning your business into a much more successful business that makes money according to the plan.
Unfortunately, just some business model canvas training won’t be enough – you need to get your hands into the topic very seriously.
Like it or not, in order to make sure that you succeed, you need to have a clear picture of what your goals are. A business plan is a great way to turn your goals into tangible steps that you can follow. Without a business plan, you might end up wandering aimlessly.
What to look for in your business plan course, though?
When you buy a business plan course, you’ll usually get a variety of different resources.
These can vary from coursework that you can do online, to ebooks and guides that you can read offline and come back to, quite obviously, video lessons.
E-courses and video modules will then be broken up into sections that explain different concepts, provide exercises that you can try out, and give examples.
What do you expect?
If you’re looking for the best business plan course, there are a few things that you should keep in mind.
First, you’ll want to make sure that the course is designed for your needs. There are a lot of different courses out there, and not all of them will be right for you.
For example, some courses are designed for people who want to start or boost a business and include everything you need to get things done from scratch.
Others are designed for people who want to run their existing businesses more successfully and require that you already possess high-level accounting and financial management skills.
As far as we’re concerned, the Business Plan Builder was designed to give you everything you need to get things ready, easy as 1, 2, and 3, from the idea stage to the document design stage. And we provide automated tables and explanations throughout, so you don’t have to worry about anything!
Does your elected course make everything numbers easy?
Second, you really (really, really) want to make sure that the business plan course you buy makes numbers easy for you.
Finance is usually a nightmare for people because coming up with financial projections and writing the financial plan in your business plan is a difficult exercise when you don’t have an adapted framework to use.
Furthermore, you also want to make sure that your course materials teach you how to deal with the numbers so that you can really understand the logic behind them.
Where to get the numbers from? How to make sure you’re not forgetting anything (especially in terms of sales estimates, costs, technology investments if any, marketing plans, cash flow, etc.)
How do investors think? How do bankers think? How to use that in your own context?
The risk, clearly, is to be unable to defend your numbers when someone grills you – which then becomes the beginning of the end.
What budget do you have?
Once you know what you’re looking for, another thing that you’ll want to consider is the price of the course.
Are you looking for a business plan writing course free of charge? You probably won’t find the full package, unfortunately. Free online courses and free online tools like the template you can download lower on this page can give you an idea you can easily reproduce, but if you want to get things done efficiently then you will have to put some money on the table.
Business plan courses can run the gamut from a few hundred dollars to several thousand dollars. This might seem like a lot of money, but it could end up being invaluable if it helps you get your company off the ground.
No need to put a fortune on this, however!
Aiming to spend a couple hundred dollars at most seems very reasonable, especially if – like the Impactified Business Plan Builder – your course comes with tools you’ll be able to use, including automated financial tables, designer-made templates, and about two hours of video coaching.
Besides, if you think that a professional business plan writer will start working around ten thousand dollars, investing around two hundred dollars in a course that’ll teach you business planning for life remains fair!
Think one-off vs. re-use!
Oh, and last but not least, you’ll also want to think about how you plan on using the course and attached materials in the long run – because there is a major impact on pricing there as well.
Say, you buy a business plan writing package with an online business planner that gives you access to fully online tools – then you’ll probably have to pay around a hundred dollars every year, just to be able to keep your data live, and your access to the site content.
Yes, the interactive business plan will probably look nice, but you’ll eventually be paying a very high price for nothing much.
Alternatively, aim for a course that gives you unlimited access to the materials over time, and that allows you to download the tools on your computer so you can work on them anytime, with or without an internet connection.
The price might be a little higher at first, but you’ll get your investment back in no time and won’t have to pay for the same thing next year!
Can an Online Course Teach Me What I Need?
If done right, yes! Online courses are a great way to learn about business planning, in a practical and actionable way. The point is not to earn a business certificate, it’s to boost your business, right?
Having said this, beyond getting the planning phase to the next step, you have to remember that a business plan alone won’t be enough to get your company up and running.
If you want to use a course as a starting point, that’s great. You might even be able to get some funding from investors using your plan after taking a course.
For other business matters, you’ll need more than a business plan course.
For example, you’ll probably need to consolidate your Entrepreneurship basics (See our Entrepreneurship development content & Course for that matter!), work on how to market your product and get customers, and how to make sure that everything is running smoothly on an everyday basis.
Look at who is providing the teaching side of the course.
There are tons of business plan-related courses out there, so you’ll also want to take a look at who is delivering the teaching part of the course.
Just because the teacher is selling lots of courses doesn’t mean they have experience in dealing with entrepreneurs. It just means they were good at selling their course online.
So, have a look at the teacher’s credentials.
There is no business plan writing certification out there, so you’ll need to look at who they are and how their background makes them a good fit for what you have in mind.
Are they an influencer looking to sell something they record but don’t practice?
Are they experienced entrepreneurs who have been through the exercise over their career?
Are they seasoned business coaches who go through the exercise on a regular basis with their own clients?
Think about it. What would create more value for you?
The Impactified team is made of experienced entrepreneurs and business coaches trained to go through that exercise. In fact, the video materials we provide are all recorded with our Content Lead (he’s our business plan course hero, really) who is a professional business coach himself – that’s worth investing into!
Check the Length and Commitment for the Course
One final thing that you’ll want to look at when you’re shopping for a business plan course is the length of the business planning course you’re signing for and the type of commitment you’re going for.
Most courses are designed to take anywhere from a few hours to a few months to complete, but the reality is that in the world of online training, less can be a lot more and a Udemy business plan training that lasts for fifteen hours won’t help.
Said differently? Enrollment in a long-lasting course is always possible but won’t get you the best business plan just because of how long the videos last. Two hours of teaching video are way enough to get you on track and give you the 80/20 of what you need to be operational and efficient.
Beyond two hours, however, chances are that the content provided to you is merely a recording of workshops, that hasn’t been edited and will take you a lot more hours than needed. Don’t go for lengthy courses unless you want a good reason to fall asleep. Just sayin’!
So, if you’re just getting started with business plans, you might want to go with a short course that gives you the basics and gets you way beyond the basics.
You’ll also want to look at the commitment that you need to make – some courses will have you sign up for programs that require a few months when all you should spend on the exercise is a few hours or weeks. Think about it!
Meet The Business Plan Builder Course!
Time to wrap things up!
Business plans can be complicated, but they’re also incredibly useful so wondering how to build yours makes a lot of sense. These can help you turn your ideas into reality and get your company off the ground – that’s not something to ignore!
The Impactified Business Plan Builder is THE online business plan course you have been looking for. It includes
- The working tools you’ll need to build your business plan step by step
- The automated tables you’ll need to come up with numbers that make sense, easy as 1, 2, 3
- Two designer-made templates you’ll be able to customize any way you want
- And two hours of video by an experienced business coach, to make sure you get everything right
The complete business plan course is available for a ridiculous price and will get you to understand and come up with successful business planning results.
From there, you’ll then be able to build an actionable roadmap for getting your own business running and making the impact that you want to make in the world. The only question left is this one: what are you waiting for?
