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Business Planning Workflow

Complete guide to business planning including strategy development, competitive positioning, market analysis, and roadmap creation

The Business Planning workflow helps founders and teams create comprehensive business plans that align vision, strategy, and execution.

Overview#

PropertyValue
Phases4
TierBusiness
Typical Duration2-4 weeks
Best ForFundraising prep, annual planning, strategic pivots

Why Business Planning Matters#

A solid business plan:

  • Aligns stakeholders - Everyone understands the direction
  • Informs decisions - Framework for evaluating opportunities
  • Attracts investors - Shows you've thought things through
  • Guides execution - Translates vision into actionable steps

Business Planning Framework#

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ BUSINESS PLANNING HIERARCHY │ ├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤ │ │ │ ┌─────────────┐ │ │ │ VISION │ │ │ │ 10+ years │ │ │ └──────┬──────┘ │ │ │ │ │ ┌──────▼──────┐ │ │ │ MISSION │ │ │ │ Why we │ │ │ │ exist │ │ │ └──────┬──────┘ │ │ │ │ │ ┌──────────────────┼──────────────────┐ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ ┌──────▼──────┐ ┌──────▼──────┐ ┌──────▼──────┐ │ │ │ STRATEGY │ │ VALUES │ │ GOALS │ │ │ │ 3-5 years │ │ How we │ │ 1 year │ │ │ │ │ │ operate │ │ │ │ │ └──────┬──────┘ └─────────────┘ └──────┬──────┘ │ │ │ │ │ │ └─────────────────┬────────────────────┘ │ │ │ │ │ ┌──────▼──────┐ │ │ │ OKRs │ │ │ │ Quarterly │ │ │ └──────┬──────┘ │ │ │ │ │ ┌──────▼──────┐ │ │ │ TACTICS │ │ │ │ Weekly │ │ │ └─────────────┘ │ │ │ └─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

Phases#

Phase 1: Vision & Mission (2-3 days)#

Agents: business-analyst

Define the fundamental purpose and direction of the company.

Tasks:

  • Articulate company vision
  • Define mission statement
  • Establish core values
  • Set long-term goals

Vision & Mission Template:

1## Company Vision 2 3### Vision Statement 4[A compelling picture of the future you're creating] 5 6**Formula:** "We envision a world where [desired future state]" 7 8**Example:** 9> "We envision a world where every developer can build production-ready 10> applications in hours, not months." 11 12**Vision Criteria Checklist:** 13- [ ] Inspiring - Motivates team and stakeholders 14- [ ] Ambitious - Stretches beyond current capabilities 15- [ ] Clear - Easy to understand and remember 16- [ ] Timeless - Relevant for 10+ years 17- [ ] Unique - Differentiates from competitors 18 19--- 20 21## Company Mission 22 23### Mission Statement 24[Why the company exists and what it does] 25 26**Formula:** "We [action] for [customer] by [method] so they can [outcome]" 27 28**Example:** 29> "We empower developers to ship faster by providing intelligent 30> development scaffolding, so they can focus on building what matters." 31 32**Mission Criteria Checklist:** 33- [ ] Action-oriented - Clear about what you do 34- [ ] Customer-focused - Identifies who you serve 35- [ ] Value-driven - Explains the benefit 36- [ ] Achievable - Realistic given resources 37- [ ] Measurable - Progress can be tracked 38 39--- 40 41## Core Values 42 43### Value 1: [Name] 44**Definition:** [What this means to us] 45**Behaviors:** 46- We do: [Positive behavior] 47- We don't: [What we avoid] 48 49### Value 2: [Name] 50**Definition:** [What this means to us] 51**Behaviors:** 52- We do: [Positive behavior] 53- We don't: [What we avoid] 54 55### Value 3: [Name] 56**Definition:** [What this means to us] 57**Behaviors:** 58- We do: [Positive behavior] 59- We don't: [What we avoid] 60 61**Example Values:** 621. **Ship Fast** - We bias toward action. Iteration beats perfection. 632. **Customer Obsessed** - We succeed when our customers succeed. 643. **Transparent** - We share information openly and honestly. 654. **Continuous Learning** - We embrace feedback and improve constantly.

Phase 2: Market Analysis (3-5 days)#

Agents: business-analyst

Understand the market opportunity and competitive landscape.

Tasks:

  • Analyze market size and trends
  • Conduct competitive analysis
  • Identify market positioning
  • Assess threats and opportunities

Market Analysis Framework:

1## Market Analysis 2 3### Market Size 4 5#### TAM (Total Addressable Market) 6**Definition:** The total market demand for your product/service 7 8**Calculation:** 9- Method: [Top-down or bottom-up] 10- Data sources: [Industry reports, government data, etc.] 11 12**Result:** $[X] billion 13 14#### SAM (Serviceable Addressable Market) 15**Definition:** The portion of TAM you can realistically serve 16 17**Filters applied:** 18- Geography: [Regions] 19- Segment: [Company size, industry] 20- Use case: [Specific application] 21 22**Result:** $[X] million 23 24#### SOM (Serviceable Obtainable Market) 25**Definition:** The portion of SAM you can capture 26 27**Assumptions:** 28- Market share target: [X]% 29- Timeline: [Y] years 30 31**Result:** $[X] million 32 33### Market Trends 34 35| Trend | Impact | Opportunity/Threat | 36|-------|--------|-------------------| 37| [Trend 1] | [Description] | Opportunity | 38| [Trend 2] | [Description] | Threat | 39| [Trend 3] | [Description] | Opportunity | 40 41### Market Dynamics 42 43**Growth Rate:** [X]% CAGR 44**Key Drivers:** 451. [Driver 1] 462. [Driver 2] 473. [Driver 3] 48 49**Barriers to Entry:** 501. [Barrier 1] 512. [Barrier 2]

Competitive Analysis:

1## Competitive Landscape 2 3### Direct Competitors 4 5| Competitor | Founded | Funding | Employees | Est. Revenue | Positioning | 6|------------|---------|---------|-----------|--------------|-------------| 7| Competitor A | 2018 | $50M | 100 | $10M ARR | Enterprise | 8| Competitor B | 2020 | $15M | 40 | $3M ARR | Mid-market | 9| Competitor C | 2019 | $5M | 20 | $1M ARR | SMB | 10 11### Competitive Positioning Map 12
Enterprise │ ○ A │ │ ○ B ────────────────────┼──────────────────── General │ Specialized Purpose │ │ ★ Us │ ○ C │ SMB
### Competitor Deep Dive: [Main Competitor] **Strengths:** - [Strength 1] - [Strength 2] - [Strength 3] **Weaknesses:** - [Weakness 1] - [Weakness 2] - [Weakness 3] **Their customers say:** > "[Quote from G2/Capterra review]" **Differentiation Opportunity:** - [How we're different/better] ### SWOT Analysis | Strengths | Weaknesses | |-----------|------------| | [S1] | [W1] | | [S2] | [W2] | | [S3] | [W3] | | Opportunities | Threats | |---------------|---------| | [O1] | [T1] | | [O2] | [T2] | | [O3] | [T3] |

Phase 3: Strategy Development (3-5 days)#

Agents: business-analyst

Define how you'll win in the market.

Tasks:

  • Define strategic positioning
  • Set strategic priorities
  • Create growth strategy
  • Plan go-to-market approach

Strategy Framework:

1## Strategic Framework 2 3### Strategic Positioning 4 5**Target Market:** [Specific customer segment] 6 7**Category:** [Market category you compete in] 8 9**Differentiation:** [Primary way you're different] 10 11**Positioning Statement:** 12> For [target customer] who [need/opportunity], 13> [Product name] is a [category] 14> that [key benefit]. 15> Unlike [competitors], 16> we [key differentiator]. 17 18**Example:** 19> For engineering teams at growing startups who need to ship faster, 20> Bootspring is a development scaffolding platform 21> that provides intelligent project templates with built-in best practices. 22> Unlike generic boilerplates, 23> we include AI-powered guidance and ongoing support throughout development. 24 25### Strategic Priorities (3-Year) 26 27| Priority | Description | Key Outcomes | 28|----------|-------------|--------------| 29| Product-Market Fit | Validate and refine core offering | 40%+ PMF score, <5% churn | 30| Go-to-Market | Establish repeatable acquisition | 100 paying customers | 31| Platform | Build ecosystem/integrations | 10 integration partners | 32 33### Growth Strategy 34 35**Primary Growth Model:** [PLG / Sales-led / Hybrid] 36 37**Growth Levers:** 381. **Acquisition:** [How we get customers] 39 - Channel 1: Content/SEO 40 - Channel 2: Product-led (free tier) 41 - Channel 3: Community 42 432. **Activation:** [How we deliver first value] 44 - Milestone: [First success metric] 45 - Target: [X]% activation rate 46 473. **Retention:** [How we keep customers] 48 - Key metric: [Net retention, churn] 49 - Target: [X]% monthly retention 50 514. **Expansion:** [How we grow accounts] 52 - Mechanism: [Usage-based, seats, tiers] 53 - Target: [X]% expansion revenue 54 555. **Referral:** [How customers bring more customers] 56 - Mechanism: [Referral program, word-of-mouth] 57 - Target: [X]% referral rate 58 59### Go-to-Market Strategy 60 61**Launch Phases:** 62 63| Phase | Timeline | Goal | Tactics | 64|-------|----------|------|---------| 65| Alpha | Month 1-2 | Validate core value | 20 design partners | 66| Beta | Month 3-4 | Refine experience | 100 beta users | 67| Launch | Month 5 | Public availability | Product Hunt, content push | 68| Growth | Month 6+ | Scale acquisition | Paid, partnerships |

Phase 4: Execution Planning (3-5 days)#

Agents: business-analyst, project-manager

Translate strategy into actionable plans.

Tasks:

  • Set annual goals
  • Create quarterly OKRs
  • Build product roadmap
  • Define success metrics
  • Assign accountability

Annual Goals & OKRs:

1## Annual Goals (Year 1) 2 3### Goal 1: Achieve Product-Market Fit 4**Key Results:** 5- 40%+ score on Sean Ellis PMF survey 6- <5% monthly logo churn 7- 10+ customer testimonials 8 9### Goal 2: Build Sustainable Revenue 10**Key Results:** 11- $100K ARR by end of year 12- 200+ paying customers 13- LTV:CAC > 3:1 14 15### Goal 3: Establish Market Presence 16**Key Results:** 17- Top 3 ranking for [target keyword] 18- 10,000+ monthly website visitors 19- 1,000+ email subscribers 20 21--- 22 23## Q1 OKRs 24 25### Objective 1: Launch MVP to Market 26**Key Results:** 271. Ship v1.0 by [date] 282. Onboard 50 beta users 293. Achieve 70%+ activation rate 304. NPS > 20 31 32**Owner:** [Name] 33**Status:** [On track / At risk / Off track] 34 35### Objective 2: Validate Revenue Model 36**Key Results:** 371. Convert 10 beta users to paid 382. Test 3 pricing configurations 393. Achieve <10% trial-to-paid drop-off 404. $5K MRR 41 42**Owner:** [Name] 43**Status:** [On track / At risk / Off track] 44 45### Objective 3: Build Content Engine 46**Key Results:** 471. Publish 12 blog posts 482. 500 organic website sessions/week 493. 200 email subscribers 504. 10 backlinks from relevant sites 51 52**Owner:** [Name] 53**Status:** [On track / At risk / Off track]

Product Roadmap:

1## Product Roadmap 2 3### Now (Q1) 4**Theme:** Foundation 5 6| Feature | Priority | Status | Owner | 7|---------|----------|--------|-------| 8| User authentication | P0 | Complete | Team | 9| Core workflow | P0 | In progress | Team | 10| Billing integration | P0 | Planned | Team | 11| Basic analytics | P1 | Planned | Team | 12 13### Next (Q2) 14**Theme:** Growth Features 15 16| Feature | Priority | Confidence | 17|---------|----------|------------| 18| Team workspaces | P0 | High | 19| Integrations (3) | P1 | Medium | 20| API access | P1 | Medium | 21| Advanced analytics | P2 | Low | 22 23### Later (Q3-Q4) 24**Theme:** Platform 25 26| Feature | Priority | Confidence | 27|---------|----------|------------| 28| Marketplace | P1 | Low | 29| Enterprise features | P1 | Low | 30| Mobile apps | P2 | Low | 31 32### Roadmap Principles 331. Customer feedback drives priorities 342. Ship small, iterate often 353. 70% planned, 30% reactive 364. Quarterly roadmap reviews

Starting the Workflow#

1# Start business planning workflow 2bootspring workflow start business-planning 3 4# Create vision document 5bootspring business vision create 6 7# Run market analysis 8bootspring business market analyze 9 10# Generate OKRs 11bootspring business okrs create --quarter Q1

Deliverables#

A successful Business Planning workflow produces:

  • Vision and mission statements
  • Core values documentation
  • Market analysis report
  • Competitive landscape analysis
  • Strategic positioning statement
  • 3-year strategic priorities
  • Annual goals
  • Quarterly OKRs
  • Product roadmap
  • Go-to-market plan

Best Practices#

  1. Involve the team - Strategy is better with diverse input
  2. Be specific - Vague goals lead to vague results
  3. Prioritize ruthlessly - Focus beats breadth
  4. Review regularly - Plans need adjustment
  5. Connect levels - OKRs should ladder to goals
  6. Make it visible - Share widely for alignment

Common Pitfalls#

  • Analysis paralysis (planning vs. doing)
  • Too many priorities
  • Goals without accountability
  • Static plans (not adjusting to reality)
  • Misalignment between strategy and execution

Related Workflows#