We’ve moved! — Check out mspmastered.com for your account, order history, and more!

It’s Past Time For a New MSP Business Plan

MSP Business Plan

A good MSP business plan guides you through each stage of starting and managing your current practice, and acts as a roadmap to structure, run and grow a new one.

In the early 2000’s I transformed the IT practice I launched in 1997 into one of the first MSPs in the industry, and was able to sell it a few years later at a high valuation. While I made my share of mistakes along the way, I wouldn’t have been able to achieve this success without a strong business planning discipline. A good MSP business plan guides you through each stage of starting and managing your current business, and acts as a roadmap to structure, run and grow a new business. It is the tool that can be used to help you get financing for growth and influence people to work or partner with you, or invest in your company.

Well, the world has changed dramatically since I sold my MSP practice, and the business plan I developed and put in place back then would be nowhere near as successful today if I simply dusted it off and tried to use it to grow an IT practice in 2023. And as a result of the new and dramatically different, and still evolving business and economic  market conditions you and your customers and suppliers began experiencing in 2020, I’m sure many of you are re-evaluating your business model, product and service portfolio, sales and service delivery processes, vertical markets, target customers, and more. 

This assessment will inform your new business strategy, and help you evolve your MSP practice to adapt to take advantage of growing opportunities such as hybrid workforce support, digital transformation and cybersecurity, and reduce your overall business risks, including rising costs, and the tech talent shortage, to name just a few.

This is where an effective business plan can be instrumental in helping you achieve greater success and profitability in 2023 and beyond, as it can help you adapt to attract and address the changed needs of today’s post-pandemic businesses. It will also help you document your strategy to adapt your marketing and sales strategies to exploit new opportunities with your current customers as well as new prospects, and help you forecast more accurate financial milestones, and ultimately deliver a roadmap to help you achieve them.

A well-researched and organized business plan does not need to be lengthy to be effective, so long as it contains the essential components necessary to realize your desired outcome. And the more concise and easier to understand it is, the better. Your plan may serve many purposes, from defining or redefining your company’s vision, mission and goals, to identifying your marketing strategy and sources of revenue, analyzing your competition, developing sales and revenue growth strategies, and obtaining business financing or investment, and more.

In fact, some business plans are written specifically to attract investment opportunities, or to seek business financing. An effective business plan will help you confirm the viability of your venture, set realistic goals based upon the market research that you conduct, and provide a roadmap to your success while minimizing risk. It will also detail the overall strategy your business will execute and the activities it will conduct to achieve your goals.

The essential components of your business plan will include:

  1. An executive summary
  2. Your vision, mission, and goals
  3. A company overview
  4. Your competitive analysis
  5. Your key alliances, partners, and vendors
  6. Your Marketing and Sales Plan
  7. Your Revenue Sources.

If you are seeking financing or funding for business growth, your plan should also include a funding request section that details how that funding will be utilized and repaid; and lastly, your business plan will include your financials to support your forecasts and build confidence in your strategy.

Get my 13 page MSP Business Plan Template here

Share This Post

As a valued member of my MSP community, would you please take a few minutes to complete my industry research survey? I’d really appreciate it!

As my thanks, you’ll get a FREE 30-day subscription to my MSPMastered® business transformation platform (a $97 value)!

My platform will help improve your managed service provider business growth and performance with exclusive training, tools, and expert insights. Get all-inclusive access to 90+ online masterclasses, 150 on-demand webinars, 250 advanced MSP tools and resources, regular group coaching sessions, and unlimited strategic support for your entire team!