Written by: Bethany Funkhouser
Edited by: Charley Maxwell
Whether you have had an agribusiness for 20+ years or you are just getting started, your business plan is a key element. A business plan is what you intend to do with your business and your plan to do it (Perdue Extension). Simple right? Not so fast. There are many parts of a business plan. It can be hard to figure out what is important in one and what’s not, as many different business plans are floating around with different styles. For this blog series, we will focus solely on the template from the “Business Plan Development Guide,” written by the Agribusiness Center for Research & Entrepreneurship (ACRE), Clemson Extension Agribusiness, and Matson Consulting. This doesn’t mean you need to follow this template exactly for your agribusiness. But hopefully, referencing these blog posts and the guide can help you feel more confident in creating or updating your business plan. Ultimately, your business plan should showcase your agribusiness and outline your plans.
So, why are business plans so important? In addition to serving as a planning tool for your agribusiness, many individuals also use their business plan to obtain funding. One example is ACRE, a program with the South Carolina Department of Agriculture. This program helps you create a business plan and use it to pitch your agribusiness for the potential of funding through their Curriculum Program. Other avenues include loans, which almost always require a business plan during the application process and other grants.
Your business plan can change over time (and should) as your agribusiness grows. Think of your business plan as a working document. Things change, whether that is finances, plans, etc. When you are planning things, your business plan should be updated, or at least revisit your business plan once a year to see what needs to be updated. You also want to make sure you have a well-formatted, grammatically correct document. This is the first document many people will see about your business. Try to create a good first impression with your business plan.
Your business plan may consist of a few different sections, including an executive summary, company description, organization/ management, an analysis of the industry and market, marketing, your product/ service, finances, and a few other key aspects. Over the next few blog posts in this series, we will graze the iceberg of what these sections include. For more information on this specific template/guide, please visit: https://acre-sc.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/ACREBusinessPlanGuide2025_digital.pdf.
Creating a business plan can seem very overwhelming, given all the information it includes. As you read this series and reference the guide, take notes on the documents and information you already have. You don’t have to start your business plan from scratch, as you may already have some of this information tucked away from your initial planning/ brainstorming. There are many resources available to help you create your business plan. The Clemson Extension Agribusiness team has agents across the state who can help you understand what goes into your business plan and connect you with other resources you may need. To find an agent, visit: https://www.clemson.edu/extension/agribusiness/team.html.
In the next blog of this series, we will take a look at the beginning of a business plan and what it consists of.
For this blog series, we will focus on the template from the “Business Plan Development Guide,” written by the Agribusiness Center for Research & Entrepreneurship (ACRE), Clemson Extension Agribusiness, and Matson Consulting. To reference the examples or go into more depth on each section, visit: https://acre-sc.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/ACREBusinessPlanGuide2025_digital.pdf.
Agribusiness Center for Research & Entrepreneurship (ACRE), et al. Business Plan Development Guide, 2025, acre-sc.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/ACREBusinessPlanGuide2025_digital.pdf.
“Strategic Business Planning.” Purdue University – College of Agriculture, ag.purdue.edu/department/agecon/fambiz/strategic-business-planning.html. Accessed 8 June 2026.
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