Using AI to Make Business Planning Easier

Apurva Palnitkar,
Senior Director of Marketing,
GoDaddy India

In today’s fast-paced business world, writing a comprehensive business plan can overwhelm entrepreneurs. However, with the advancement of Artificial Intelligence (AI), this critical process is becoming more efficient and accessible. This guide shows you how to use AI tools like ChatGPT to create a complete business plan.

Think of AI as your digital assistant, speeding up the first draft so you have more time to improve it. AI gives you structure, but your ideas and understanding make this plan unique.

Embrace AI in Business Planning – Before you begin, you should know what goes into a business plan: a business summary, details about your company, and information about your market and competitors. You’ll also need sales, management, operations, and financial plans.

Gather all your business details first. This makes it easier for AI to help you turn them into a plan.

Feeding Information to AI – Start by providing a general overview of your business, including its name, target market, products or services, and financial projections. Below is the template below that can be used to provide information:

“I’m developing a business plan for my company, [company name], a [industry] startup offering

. Please accept the information below about my company as a basis for developing a strong business plan.”

Creating Sections with AI Help – Breaking your business plan into sections and using specific prompts for each can streamline the process. AI can generate initial drafts for each part, which you can review and edit. Here are some prompts to guide you:

1. Summary and Company Description:
“As a successful entrepreneur and seasoned strategist, draft an enticing executive summary and company description for [company name] in the [industry] sector.”

2. Products and Services:
“As an innovative product developer, provide a comprehensive description of
offered by my company.”

3. Market Analysis:
“As a market analyst, outline a detailed market analysis for [company name].”

4. Competitive Analysis:
“Compile a concise competitive analysis for [company name], highlighting the strengths and weaknesses of key competitors.”

5. Marketing and Sales Plan:
“Create a thorough sales and marketing plan for [company name], including a detailed growth strategy.”

6. Value Proposition:
“Assume the perspective of a potential customer and identify the unique selling proposition of [company name].”

7. Ownership and Management Plan:
“Outline the optimal structure, ownership, and management roles for [company name].”

8. Operating Plan:
“Craft an efficient operating plan for [company name], detailing infrastructure and risk management.”

9. Financial Plan:
“Develop a comprehensive financial overview and funding request for [company name], including income statements and sales forecasts.”

10. Extra Information:
This is where you can add any extra details like research or visuals.

Finalizing Your Plan – Once you have drafts for each part, it’s time to make it all fit together nicely. Your business plan should clearly show what your business is about and its path to success.

Getting Feedback from AI – After refining your draft, ask AI to check for missing parts, mistakes, or inconsistencies. This is a good time for AI to help create a summary, mission statement, vision, values, and value proposition to ensure alignment with your business goals.

Make a One-Page Plan – Create a simple one-page version of your business plan. It should include all the important points and be easy to understand. This step ensures clarity and focus, making it easier to communicate your business strategy to stakeholders.

AI is a helpful tool for making business plans faster and easier. Remember, while AI can help a lot, it does not replace the ingenuity and oversight of human input. Embrace AI to streamline your business planning, allowing you more time to focus on turning your entrepreneurial dreams into reality.

Share on