Planning to start your own business is both exciting and overwhelming. While you know exactly what your business wants to address, you don’t really know where to begin. You need to be careful about your money and the resources you invest in to set shop.

So here are 10 free small business planning resources available online, that will guide you through the process of planning your business to setting it up effectively:

1. The Small Business Association (SBA)

If you’re still drafting a business plan, SBA’s create your business plan section is where you should head to. This section will walk you through each section of planning a business – telling you what to include and what will make you stand out in the competition.

2. SCORE

SCORE’s business plan section is another fantastic planning resource that is loaded with free online workshops and podcasts that guide you through the initial phases till the end. They also offer free mentoring in person and via emails.

3. Onesto EMV Payments Guide

If you want to set up a successful small business, you just can’t ignore EMV payment methods that are going to be implemented for all credit cards. To understand everything about this payment method, you can view our guidehere.

4. Startup Planner

Entrepreneurs often have more than one idea for their business, but often face a problem in articulating it. Navarro College Small Business Development Center in Texas recognised this issue and offers a free business startup planning questionnaire that allows you to put forward your ideas in words.

5. Entrepreneur.com

Entrepreneur offers a business planning resource that is loaded with business planning guidelines, checklists, forms, templates and models. In fact the platform also links you to related categories that are important for setting up a business – marketing forms and templates, entrepreneurship tips and finance management.

6. Business USA

The start a business wizard offered by Business USA is an online tool that asks you a variety of questions like your inventions, plans on opening a venture, thoughts on acquiring an existing business, etc. Based on your answers the tool then prepares a sample action plan with the necessary steps you need to take to set shop and the local resources that will be available to you based on your ZIP code.

7. Microsoft Office

The Microsoft Office site offers a gallery of templates, including business plan checklists, financial managers, presentation layouts and marketing planners. These templates are helpful if you want to keep everything in your business plan highly organised right from the beginning. It also offers a presentation template that is highly optimized for showcasing your business plans to potential investors.

8. VFinance

A publicly traded company, VFinance uses their personal investment knowledge in creating a business plan template for small businesses. It allows you to download a free business plan that is targeted at the industry you’re focusing on with $75 towards 3 months of professional posting of your business plan for potential investors.

9. BizGym

BizGym is an online business planner that allows you to fill out a planning template on-site section wise. It then tracks your progress and enables sharing of the plan once completed. It offers a collaborative platform with multiple pricing options, including a free plan called ‘inventor’. You can simply apply to gain access to resources such as deck builder, budget builder and pivot planning.

10. BPlans

BPlans offers a free, basic business plan template for download. This template includes an organized guideline to creating a business plan, and takes you step-by-step towards being investor ready and SBA approved.

Know of any other resources that has been helpful to you in business planning? Feel free to add to this list by dropping a comment in the box below!