Research Guides: Entrepreneurship: Business Planning

Business Models

Business models should be used to attract investment, recruit talent, anticipate trends and challenges, and help investors evaluate companies that interest them. This is used as the company's core strategy for ensuring profitability. Below are a few resources to help create a business model.

Business Model Examples (Strategyzer)
"A searchable catalog of business model examples analyzed and presented using the Business Model Canvas... Search by company name, industry and/or business model pattern".
Templates, Models, and Canvases (Strategyzer)
Business Model and Value Proposition canvases and templates are available for free download.
Social Enterprise Business Models (MaRS Library)
Outlines and compares a number of business models to assist in deciding which to incorporate.
Ten Nonprofit Funding Models (ssir.org)
Outlines 10 funding models that nonprofit leaders can use for engaging in succinct and clear conversations about long-term financial strategy.

Business Plans

A business plan contains the goals of a business, with details about how those goals will be achieved and the time-frame for achieving them. It serves as a roadmap that provides direction, includes background company information and financial projections. Business plans are often required to obtain financing and business loans. Templates and guidance are readily available through government and association websites. A few are llisted below to get you started.

How to write a business plan (Small Business BC)
Get Started on your business plan by downloading Small Business BC’s Business Plan Template and Cashflow Forecasting Tool.
Shopify's Business Plan Guide
Outlines the creation of a business plan in 9 steps.
RBC Starting a Business
From making sure your idea will work to figuring out the money, explore the steps below to find tools, resources and advice to help you plan.
BDC Entrepreneur's Toolkit
Free tools adn templates for business assessments, benchmarking, webinars, ebooks, publications templates and guides from the Business Development Bank of Canada. Includes business plan template.

Feasibility Reports

Feasibility reports are used to determine if a business ideal will be successful based on a number of considerations including competitive advantage, financial feasibility, and market segmentation. Some example feasibility reports can be found through Google Scholar. Search for a product or industry and include "feasibility analysis" or "feasibility report" in your search. Below are a few examples along with some resources to help create a feasibility report.

Full Feasibility Analysis (Pearson Education) (PDF)
Tools and templates for conducting a full feasibility analysis including: product/service, industry/market, organizational, financial and an overallassessment. Originally published as Appendix 3.1 of the textbook "Entrepreneurship: successfully launching new ventures" by Bruce Barringer and Duane Ireland.

Feasibility Analysis for the New Venture Nonprofit Enterprise (journal article)
This article in the New England Journal of Entrepreneurship explores the value of feasibility analysis for the pre-launch nonprofit enterprise.
Note: Access restricted to authorized Brock University users.

Example feasibility reports:

Feasibility study of coffee house business opportunity in COVID-19 Pandemic: a case study at kulo coffee shop pemogan
Sudiartini, N. W. A., Astari, A. A. E., Kardini, N. L., & Dhani, Y. R. (2020). The feasibility study of coffee house business opportunity in COVID-19 pandemic: a case study at kulo coffee shop pemogan. International Research Journal of Management, IT and Social Sciences, 7(5), 38-45.
Feasibility Study of a Brewpub
In the competitive restaurant and bar markets in San Francisco, is it feasible to start a brewpub with the expectations of becoming profitable in five years or less?
Feasibility Study for Renovating an Old Barn into a Tasting Room for K-Dot Winery
alifornia is the largest wine producer in the nation. There are more than 4,000 wineries in the state and much of their success comes from tasting rooms. A study will be conducted in the spring of 2017 to determine the feasibility of building a tasting room out of an old barn at an established winery.