Business Planning Business Training
Module 15 • Build a practical business plan, price your offer, understand costs, manage cash, and prepare for your first 90 days.
Start Course ↓Welcome to Module 15
Self-paced student course • 12 expanded lessons • narrated slideshow • worksheets • practical project • 10-question final test
🎯 Your goal
Finish with a written business plan and a realistic budget for one product or service.
📋 How to study
Open each lesson, complete its practice assignment, then fill in the worksheets.
✅ Completion
Finish the business plan project and check your knowledge with the final test.
Educational note: This course provides general planning information, not legal, tax, accounting, or financial advice. No business income is guaranteed.
Narrated Business Planning Slideshow
Press Start Presentation to hear each of the 12 slides read aloud. Speech uses your browser's available voice and may not work until you click Start. Use Pause, Previous, Next, or Stop at any time.
Choose a Viable Idea
Choose one customer, one problem, and one small offer. Test demand before investing in a large project. A compliment is not the same as a sale.
Research the Market
Study alternatives, reviews and customer conversations. Record repeated frustrations, public prices and an unmet need you can test.
Pick a Business Model
Define what the customer buys, how they pay, how you deliver, and which support is included. Put clear boundaries in writing.
Calculate Startup Costs
List all one-time expenses. Separate what is essential from what can wait. Get current quotes and allow a cash reserve.
Know Monthly Expenses
Separate bills you pay even with zero sales from fees incurred with each sale. Calculate your monthly fixed overhead.
Price for Sustainability
Subtract variable cost from the sale price to find contribution. Divide monthly fixed costs by that contribution to estimate break-even orders.
Forecast 90-Day Cash
Track cash when it actually enters and leaves. Plan three months conservatively and reduce spending if ending cash looks negative.
Create a Marketing Plan
Choose one or two channels, create genuinely useful content, and track how many people visit, inquire, and buy.
Design Checkout and Delivery
Test the complete journey from public course description to payment, confirmation and protected lesson access.
Track the Numbers
Record sales, refunds, expenses, cash and time. Compare meaningful outcomes, not view counts alone. Improve one thing at a time.
Manage Business Risks
Verify registration, taxes, permits, privacy, insurance and resale rights where applicable. Keep a backup plan and records.
Finish Your Business Plan
Write the customer, offer, marketing, operations, financial assumptions and milestones on one page. Revise it with real results.
Ready to play Lesson 1.
Part 1 — Your Business Planning Lessons
Click each lesson title to open it.
01Lesson 1: Find a Business Idea That Can WorkOpen lesson
A workable idea solves a problem for a clearly defined customer. Begin with skills, experience, tools, and time you already have. Interview potential customers before spending much money.
Steps to take
- Write down three customer problems you understand.
- Describe one specific customer and where to reach them.
- Identify what customers currently use instead of your offer.
- Choose one small service or product to test before expanding.
Draft a one-sentence offer: I help [customer] accomplish [result] through
.Validate the problem before buying tools
A business idea is stronger when a specific group regularly experiences a problem and will consider paying to fix it. Separate enthusiasm from evidence: compliments and likes are not purchases. Start with a small, clear promise and a test you can deliver reliably.
Example: Instead of selling “business help,” offer a clearly scoped 60-minute website setup review to local service operators. Before building a full program, ask what they struggle with and whether they would pay for that exact review.
Check your plan: Decision checkpoint: Can you name the customer, the problem, the result, the price you want to test, and how you will know the test worked?
02Lesson 2: Research Customers and CompetitorsOpen lesson
Research is about evidence, not guessing. Compare competing offers, prices, customer reviews, common complaints, and how customers find sellers. Your advantage may be clarity, convenience, specialized knowledge, or reliable follow-up.
Steps to take
- List at least five direct or indirect competitors.
- Record the offer, public price, strengths, and customer complaints for each.
- Ask five potential customers about their current frustrations.
- Avoid assuming that a large audience means paying customers.
Build a competitor comparison table and write the gap your offer fills.
Get useful research without guessing
Look for patterns across competitor listings, reviews, public pricing, and interviews. Competitors prove that alternatives exist; they do not prove demand for your exact offer. Avoid copying protected materials or contacting people deceptively. Summarize the most frequent complaints in the customer’s own words.
Example: Five competitor listings offer lengthy guides. Buyers repeatedly ask for shorter checklists. You could test a checklist-led course, but first verify customers actually want it and will purchase.
Check your plan: Decision checkpoint: Document five alternatives, three repeated customer complaints, and one testable difference in your offer.
03Lesson 3: Choose a Simple Business ModelOpen lesson
Choose how customers pay: one-time purchase, project fee, subscription, or a combination. Describe the delivery process and who owns each step. Digital products can have low per-unit delivery cost, but creation, support, transaction fees, and marketing still cost time or money.
Steps to take
- Choose one primary product or service.
- State the sale price and exactly what the buyer receives.
- Explain how delivery, refunds, and support will work.
- Identify any license, insurance, permission, or local registration requirements to verify.
Draw the customer journey from discovery to payment to delivery to support.
Make the model clear from payment to support
A business model explains exactly what is sold, when revenue is earned, what it costs to deliver, and what happens after payment. A digital download, a live consultation, and a membership have very different refund, access, and support obligations. Define the boundary of your offer.
Example: A $37 digital guide comes with an immediate download and an email address for file-access problems, but not unlimited one-on-one consulting. Put that boundary on the sales page.
Check your plan: Decision checkpoint: Can a customer understand what they receive, what they do not receive, delivery timing, and support terms without asking you?
04Lesson 4: Estimate Startup CostsOpen lesson
Separate one-time setup expenses from continuing expenses. Include domain, hosting, software, equipment, supplies, licensing, insurance, branding, and a realistic cash reserve. Do not buy optional tools until your first test indicates demand.
Steps to take
- Label costs as one-time or recurring.
- Separate must-have expenses from nice-to-have expenses.
- Obtain current quotes rather than assuming old prices.
- Budget for unexpected expenses and slow early sales.
Complete the startup cost worksheet below with your own amounts.
Prioritize necessary startup spending
A startup budget is a decision tool. Separate required expenses, optional improvements, and a reserve. Costs paid once are different from subscriptions that recur even without sales. Confirm local requirements directly; one example may not apply to every location.
Example: Domain setup, basic hosting, and required insurance may be core costs. A premium logo package or several overlapping monthly apps may wait until sales justify them.
Check your plan: Decision checkpoint: Label each startup item necessary, deferrable, or not needed; obtain quotes and total the cash required before launch.
05Lesson 5: Understand Monthly Operating CostsOpen lesson
Fixed costs occur even when you have no sales; variable costs change with orders. Payment processing, product materials, shipping, affiliate commissions, and fulfillment can reduce the money left from each sale. Your own labor matters too.
Steps to take
- List monthly fixed costs such as hosting and subscriptions.
- Estimate variable cost for a single sale.
- Calculate contribution per sale = selling price minus variable costs.
- Track actual costs monthly and cancel unused subscriptions.
Create one monthly expense plan and a lower-cost backup plan.
Know your true monthly burn rate
Track fixed expenses and variable expenses separately. Fixed expenses recur regardless of sales. Variable expenses may include card processing, fulfillment, supplies, and platform fees. Account for time spent answering customers as well as cash charges.
Example: $25 hosting, $20 software, and $15 other recurring costs equal $60 fixed monthly overhead. If each sale incurs $3 in fees, that $3 is variable, not part of fixed overhead.
Check your plan: Decision checkpoint: Make a no-sales budget. How many months can you afford unavoidable expenses without assuming a future purchase?
06Lesson 6: Set Prices and Profit TargetsOpen lesson
A price must cover costs, reflect customer value, and fit market expectations. Revenue is not profit. Gross contribution per sale must eventually cover fixed costs, taxes, and your pay. Introductory discounts should be tested, not permanent by default.
Steps to take
- Calculate contribution per sale before choosing your final price.
- Compare your proposed price with real alternatives.
- Consider support time, refund risk, and fees.
- Test one clear offer rather than discounting every product.
Use the break-even calculator worksheet and estimate the number of monthly sales needed.
Calculate break-even before discounting
Contribution margin per order equals selling price minus variable cost per order. Break-even sales volume equals fixed monthly costs divided by contribution margin, rounded up. This covers fixed business costs, not automatically taxes, debt payments, or the owner’s wages.
Example: A $40 offer with $5 variable cost gives $35 contribution per sale. With $350 fixed monthly costs, break-even is 10 sales. Cutting the price to $30 with the same $5 variable cost raises break-even to 14 sales.
Check your plan: Decision checkpoint: Write down your break-even at full price and at a discounted price. Which is realistic given past sales?
07Lesson 7: Build a 90-Day Cash Flow PlanOpen lesson
Cash flow tracks the timing of money in and out, not just whether a business looks profitable on paper. Plan around when bills are due and when payments are received. Use cautious sales assumptions and do not rely on projected revenue to pay unavoidable bills.
Steps to take
- Write the beginning cash balance for each month.
- Forecast cash received separately from orders placed.
- Record bills in the month they must be paid.
- Mark the month when cash would fall below zero and reduce costs early.
Fill out the three-month cash flow forecast below using conservative sales.
Understand the timing of money
Revenue and cash flow are not interchangeable. A business can record a sale while waiting for the payment to settle. Bills, refunds, taxes, and equipment purchases can drain cash at different times. Model each month conservatively, then update actual numbers.
Example: If you begin with $200, receive $150 in cleared payments, and pay $250 in bills, ending cash is $100. Next month starts with $100, not the revenue figure from the previous month.
Check your plan: Decision checkpoint: Can you make the next 90 days work in a conservative scenario with fewer sales than you hope for?
08Lesson 8: Create a Free or Low-Cost Marketing PlanOpen lesson
Select one or two channels where target buyers already spend time. Useful demonstrations, practical tips, examples, and clear calls to action generally provide more value than repeating generic sales claims. Measure actual inquiries and purchases, not just views.
Steps to take
- Choose one main channel and one backup.
- Write three customer questions that your content will answer.
- Create a weekly content and follow-up schedule.
- Track visits, inquiries, checkout starts, and sales.
Draft four helpful posts, each with one next step for the reader.
Measure actions that lead to paying customers
Free marketing is not costless: it consumes time. Choose where likely customers can be reached and create useful demonstrations addressing specific questions. Each post should lead to a clear, appropriate next action. Distinguish reach, website visits, inquiries, and purchases.
Example: Post a short walkthrough solving one common customer problem, then send interested viewers to an accurate course information page. Record visits and purchases to learn whether the content brought qualified buyers.
Check your plan: Decision checkpoint: Pick two channels at most, four teaching topics, a simple weekly schedule, and one outcome measure per channel.
09Lesson 9: Build a Sales and Delivery ProcessOpen lesson
Make it easy for an interested customer to understand the offer, see the price, pay securely, and get what was promised. Define response times and what happens when a delivery fails. For online lessons, test access with an account that has not purchased.
Steps to take
- Write a clear sales page: problem, offer, contents, price, terms, purchase button.
- Test a complete checkout with the payment provider test mode where available.
- Set up order confirmation, access, support and refund instructions.
- Verify that unpaid visitors cannot open protected course content.
Write a five-step order-to-delivery checklist.
Make the promised product actually accessible
Write the customer journey as steps: discover the offer, read the details, pay, receive confirmation, access materials, request help if needed. Test each step as a new visitor and as a paid user. Restrict content on the server; hiding buttons alone does not restrict direct URLs.
Example: After checkout, a paying member can view the classroom and each lesson. A logged-out or unpaid visitor who pastes a lesson URL into the browser must not see protected content.
Check your plan: Decision checkpoint: Run a test of payment, access, email confirmation, refund policy display, and an unpaid direct-link attempt before opening enrollment.
10Lesson 10: Track Results and ImproveOpen lesson
A simple monthly scorecard makes your decisions more reliable. Monitor cash, revenue, expenses, gross contribution, customer acquisition, refunds, and time spent. Change one variable at a time so you can learn from the results.
Steps to take
- Choose five numbers to record each week.
- Review why customers do or do not buy.
- Remove recurring costs that are not earning their keep.
- Keep a dated record of changes and outcomes.
Write a 30-day improvement plan with one measurable goal.
Use one simple scorecard
Measure data you can act on: orders, revenue, refunds, variable costs, fixed expenses, and actual cash balance. Also note how much time you spend producing posts and responding to inquiries. Review changes over consistent time periods.
Example: If a post gets 1,000 views but no visits or sales, improve the audience fit or next step rather than claiming 1,000 potential customers.
Check your plan: Decision checkpoint: Set a weekly review day. Choose one change to test, write the date, and compare results before making another major change.
11Lesson 11: Manage Risks and Legal BasicsOpen lesson
Requirements vary by business type and location. Confirm registration, sales tax, permits, insurance, recordkeeping, contracts, privacy, advertising claims, and digital-product rights with appropriate official guidance or professionals. Never promise guaranteed earnings.
Steps to take
- Keep receipts, contracts, and vendor records organized.
- Check rights before reselling licensed digital products.
- Protect passwords and customer information.
- Plan what to do if equipment, a website, or a supplier fails.
Make a risk list: risk, likelihood, impact, preventive action, backup response.
Prepare for predictable business risks
Regulations, taxes, contracts, licenses, insurance, privacy requirements, and resale rights vary. Keep business records organized and verify obligations for the location and business type. Do not imply that a course, checklist, or template is a government certification or guarantee of income.
Example: A bundle marked with resale rights may permit selling its included files under specific terms, but not reselling every third-party component or claiming copyright ownership. Read each license.
Check your plan: Decision checkpoint: List three high-impact risks and the person or official resource you will use to verify each.
12Lesson 12: Write and Present Your Business PlanOpen lesson
A useful business plan is a decision tool, not a long report for its own sake. It should describe your customer, offer, competition, marketing, operations, expected finances, risks, and next milestones. Revisit it as you collect real sales data.
Steps to take
- Write a one-paragraph executive summary.
- Explain who buys, why, and how you reach them.
- Show startup needs, monthly costs, pricing, and break-even calculation.
- Define three milestones you can verify in 30, 60, and 90 days.
Complete the one-page business plan template at the end of the course.
Turn your research into a working plan
A useful business plan can fit on one page, but its numbers must match your worksheets. Describe the customer and offer, why buyers may choose you, acquisition channels, delivery steps, startup costs, break-even volume, risks, and measurable milestones. Update it as results arrive.
Example: Your 30-day milestone might be to complete an offer and test checkout; your 60-day goal might be to interview 10 prospects and test two educational posts; your 90-day goal might be to review conversion and costs. These are planning examples, not promised results.
Check your plan: Decision checkpoint: Explain the plan aloud in two minutes without skipping who buys, why they buy, and how you stay solvent.
Part 2 — Startup and Operating Budget Worksheets
Use your own estimates. Confirm prices and requirements for your location and business type.
Worksheet A: Startup Costs
| One-time expense | Estimated cost | Must-have? |
|---|---|---|
| Business registration / permits | $________ | Yes / No |
| Domain and initial website setup | $________ | Yes / No |
| Equipment and supplies | $________ | Yes / No |
| Branding and marketing materials | $________ | Yes / No |
| Licenses / initial insurance | $________ | Yes / No |
| Other / contingency | $________ | Yes / No |
| TOTAL STARTUP COST | $________ | Yes / No |
Worksheet B: Monthly Expenses
| Monthly expense | Estimated amount |
|---|---|
| Hosting / domain allocation | $________ |
| Software subscriptions | $________ |
| Insurance | $________ |
| Internet / telephone share | $________ |
| Marketing budget | $________ |
| Other recurring costs | $________ |
| TOTAL MONTHLY FIXED COSTS | $________ |
Worksheet C: Pricing and Break-even
Selling price per order: $________
Variable cost per order (fees, supplies, delivery, commissions): $________
Contribution per sale = selling price − variable cost: $________
Monthly fixed costs: $________
Break-even orders = monthly fixed costs ÷ contribution per sale (round up): ________ orders
Example: $37 price − $4 variable costs = $33 contribution. With $330 fixed costs, you need 10 sales to cover fixed costs before taxes or owner pay.
If contribution per sale is zero or negative, you cannot cover fixed costs by increasing sales of that offer at its current price and cost.
Part 3 — 90-Day Cash Flow Worksheet
Cash at the end of one month becomes starting cash in the next month.
| Cash flow item | Month 1 | Month 2 | Month 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Beginning cash | $_______ | $_______ | $_______ |
| Payments received | $_______ | $_______ | $_______ |
| Other cash received | $_______ | $_______ | $_______ |
| Total cash available | $_______ | $_______ | $_______ |
| Fixed expenses paid | $_______ | $_______ | $_______ |
| Variable expenses paid | $_______ | $_______ | $_______ |
| One-time purchases paid | $_______ | $_______ | $_______ |
| Taxes / owner withdrawal planned | $_______ | $_______ | $_______ |
| Ending cash | $_______ | $_______ | $_______ |
Part 4 — Your One-Page Business Plan
Fill in these prompts on paper, in Google Docs, or in your own notebook.
90-Day Action Checklist
Part 5 — Final Knowledge Test
Answer all ten questions. Afterward, open the answer key to check your work. Recommended self-check target: at least 8 out of 10 correct.
Open Answer Key (after completing the test)
Correct answers: 1. A | 2. B | 3. A | 4. B | 5. A | 6. C | 7. A | 8. B | 9. A | 10. A
Review any lesson connected to a question you missed, then try again.
Course Completion
You've reached the end of Business Planning Business Training. Keep your completed budget, business plan, and 90-day goals together so you can revise them as you learn.
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