Things to Include in Your Graphic Design Business Plan

Writing a graphic design business plan is one step you can take to thrive as a new business. The alternative is to have no plan at all and risk business failure because you have no idea how to guide your business. Your partners, employees or potential investors can all benefit from a detailed plan that outlines the finances, management, sales and marketing strategies that you will implement. A thorough plan needs to include the following things:

1 – Executive Summary

Your executive summary should not exceed one page. It should contain an overview of your business mission, operations, objectives, and marketing and sales strategies. If you plan to share your business plan with others, then you can expect this page to be the most read. Keep it interesting so that you can intrigue readers to continue reading the rest of the plan.

2 – Services

Before you write your plan, you should decide on your niche. A graphic design business plan that covers all possible services is too broad and it will make it difficult for you to grow and compete in the marketplace. Your services should be specific to the niche that you want to target. Some examples of services that you may offer are:

• Brand identity
• Packaging
• Logo design
• Book covers
• T-Shirt designs
• Print marketing materials

Specify the services you plan to offer in your plan and remind the reader, and yourself, that there is a need for those services in your niche market.

3 – Target Market Analysis and Strategy

You must identify your target market and offer as much detail as you can about it. Part of the reason for many business failures is that they lack target market identification. You need to know exactly who you plan to serve, what their needs are, who else is serving that market and how to best deliver your services to them. Your analysis should include:

• Demographics about your customers
• Details about the businesses in your target market, such as the number of employees
• Estimate the number of prospective customers
• Discussion of trends in the graphic design industry
• Strategies for customer acquisition and retention
• Analysis of competitors

This portion of your business plan will benefit you greatly. You can refer to it as you implement marketing strategies, as well as share it with some of your employees.

4 – Management and Personnel Plan

In the management and personnel section of your graphic design business plan, you should cover your background as it relates to your ability to manage the business. You should discuss your educational background, work experiences, certifications and other areas of your background that will influence your leadership in the company. You should also list everyone who will work for your company as an employee, consultant, freelancer or independent contractor, along with their respective pay.

The good news is that you don’t have to write a graphic design business plan from scratch. You can buy affordable software that will include templates and outlines, and many will guide you step-by-step through the business planning process.