Chicago Business Plan Writers & Consultants

Growthink is a national business plan development company. Members of our business plan writing team are located in several major cities across the United States, including Chicago, IL. Since 1999, our business plan consulting team has written more than 5,000 professional business plans for entrepreneurs, small businesses, mid-sized firms, and Fortune 500 corporations in the Chicago area and beyond.

Our professional business plan consultants work with clients throughout the greater Chicago area including: Aurora, Rockford, Joliet, Naperville, Peoria, Springfield, and more.

We have written business plans for Chicago clients in hundreds of industries including sporting goods companies, alternative energy companies, internet and software companies, retail businesses, health services, and consumer & business services firms among many others.

If you are seeking professional help with your business plan, call us at 800-216-3710 or complete one of the forms below. Additional information about our professional business plan consulting services is below.

Growthink Writes Business Plans to Help You Achieve Your Goals

Since 1999, Growthink has created more than 5,000 business and strategic plans for clients who have gone on to achieve tremendous success.

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Call Us Today at:

(800) 216 – 3710

What Makes Growthink Unique​

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Experienced Consultants

Growthink’s business planning team has advanced degrees in business, entrepreneurial and financial backgrounds, including experience starting, financing, and growing businesses and working as angel, venture capital, and private equity investors.

expert market research

Expert Market Research

We have access to several market research databases to help you better understand the emerging trends in your industry and better identify your target markets, potential risks, and growth opportunities to develop a truly comprehensive business strategy.

custom business plans

Customized Business Plans

We work closely with you to understand and improve your business model, target market, plans for securing funding and increasing sales, and other aspects of your unique vision to build a custom business plan and financial projections that will help you reach your company goals.

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Vast Client Experience

We have developed business plans for clients in over 500 key industries, including startups, multi-national corporations, and non-profit organizations. We know how to develop a successful plan regardless of your stage of growth or type of business.

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$5 Billion in Funding Raised

We are in constant contact with investors and other funding sources. This enables us to develop business plans that raise money. Since 1999, Growthink clients have raised more than $5 billion.​

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Better Strategies

We don't just document your business ideas on paper. Our business plan consultants conduct market research and collaborate with you to create strategic plans for you to succeed in today's competitive environment and over the long term.​

What the Media Says

Based on Growthink’s track record and leadership, the media constantly contacts us for advice and information on business planning and capital raising. In fact, multiple media sources refer to us as the “Business Plan Experts.”

Growthink has been featured in over 300 media sources including the following:
Logos of The New York Times The Wall Street Journal CNN Money Fast Company Inc Forbes Fortune NPR The Huffington Post SmartMoney Fox Business The Christian Science Monitor Business Week Entrepreneur Venture Beat Inventors Digest The Deal SmartBusiness Los Angeles Times and AOL

Get A Free Consultation

During your complimentary consultation, we’ll listen to your goals and offer our initial advice on your business ideas, financing options, and growth opportunities. Then we can discuss specific options for working together.

Complete the form, or call us at:

(800) 216-3710

Who We Serve

Since Growthink was founded in 1999, we have developed
business plans for over 5,000 clients around the world including:

Startups

Mid-Sized to Larger Companies

Early-Stage Entrepreneurs

Fortune 500 Companies

Small Business Owners

NonProfit and Government

Representative Clients

Growthink clients compete in hundreds of different sectors and geographic markets. So, regardless of your sector or market, we have real-world expertise and experience to better serve you. Sample clients who have entrusted Growthink with developing their business plans include:

Get A Free Consultation

During your complimentary consultation, we’ll listen to your goals and offer our initial advice on your business ideas, financing options, and growth opportunities. Then we can discuss specific options for working together.

Complete the form, or call us at:

(800) 216-3710

What Our Clients Say

In addition to the massive success they’ve achieved, our clients have enjoyed
working with us. What some of our clients have said about Growthink:
I loved working with Growthink. They are passionate about their work and committed to what they do in a way that can only be achieved when you love what you do. They helped keep us on track to achieve our planning goals. I look forward to continued success working with everyone from Growthink in the future.
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Venus Williams
Professional Tennis Player
CEO, V Starr Interiors
I worked with the team at Growthink to accelerate the development of the original Integreon business plan. They are a sharp, creative, and results-focused group. I recommend them highly to companies of all sizes looking to turbo-charge the development of their strategic business plans and their businesses.
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Liam Brown
CEO, Integreon
I absolutely loved working with Growthink! They listened to our objectives and truly understood what our mission was prior to beginning our project. They hit all their milestones on-time and on-point. They ultimately delivered a very valuable tool that will have tremendous use to us in our growth.
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Karen DiPeri
President, HMG Plus

Our Founders

Jay has over 25 years of experience in starting, building, advising and investing in high growth firms. His advisory work spans industries and market sectors, including corporate clients like Deutsche Bank, McKesson, Infospace, Samsung, Porsche, & Paramount Pictures seeking to inject entrepreneurship and innovation into their organizations. He has an MBA from the Anderson School at UCLA and a Bachelor’s degree from Stanford University.  Read more.

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Dave Lavinsky

President

Growthink’s President, is the author of the Amazon #1 Best Seller in Entrepreneurship “Start at the End: How Companies Can Grow Bigger and Faster by Reversing Their Business Plan,” published by Wiley. Dave is a contributor for Enterpreneur.com and Forbes.com. BusinessWeek went so far as to call Dave ‘The Business Plan Expert.’ Dave has an MBA from the Anderson School of Management at UCLA and a Bachelor’s degree from University of Virginia.  Read More

Need Help With Your Business Plan?

Call Us Today

(800) 216 - 3710

Our Business Plan Writing Methodology

Our Chicago business plan writing team has developed thousands of custom business plans for clients in all types of industries. During this time, we have developed proprietary methodologies to ensure our clients receive top-quality business plans every time. The Growthink methodology includes five phases which are designed to maximize quality and client satisfaction.
  1. Management Interviews: In this first phase, our professional business plan consultant will collect and document your “verbal” growth plan, including your vision, key accomplishments to date, challenges and opportunities, business objectives and goals, and growth strategies. In this phase, we also identify and refine key research questions, and work to define and communicate an effective “story” for the business plan. Your “story” is what’s going to appeal to investors and lenders.
  2. Strategic Market Research: In this phase, we size the relevant market whether in Chicago, a specific region, or nationwide, analyze competitors, profile existing and prospective customer groups, and perform our due diligence to identify opportunities to grow your own business. Growthink also conducts “benchmarking research” — this involves identifying other companies that have succeeded and/or failed with similar businesses and/or initiatives.
  3. Draft Business Plan & Financial Models: Next, we provide a draft of your business plan. This will include the full business plan including the following sections:
    1. Executive Summary
    2. Company Analysis
    3. Customer and Market Analyses
    4. Industry and Competitive Analyses
    5. Development, Operations, and Marketing Plans
    6. Management Team
    7. Appendix
    We will also deliver your complete financial model at this time, including the financial projections.
  4. Review and Revise: In this phase, we review the draft business plan with you and discuss the focus, wording, and flow of the document. We incorporate any necessary revisions and refinements, and prepare the revised plan.
  5. Package and Finalize: The final stage involves creating a clean, professional document, with graphical enhancements, that is copy-edited, formatted, and ready to be presented to stakeholders and investors.
 

Business Plan Writers Chicago FAQs

A business plan writer or consultant provides advice and recommendations to entrepreneurs and business owners about their business plans. The consultant can help with all aspects of the business planning process including the creation of a solid business strategy to obtain funds for expansion or start-up costs.

The consultant may make suggestions to improve the company’s business model, oversee the creation of a financial model and assist in the development of a marketing plan. In addition to analyzing all aspects of the business, a professional business consultant will also conduct thorough market research to ensure the business idea is viable and if so, identify the target market, growth opportunities, and the competition. The consultant may also be able to recommend resources that can be utilized by the entrepreneur or business owner to launch and/or grow their business successfully.

Learn more about Growthink’s business plan consulting services and business plan writing methodology. 

Simply put, hiring an expert allows you to save a significant amount of time. Between the research and number crunching that a consultant does before you start writing, it is easier to spend your time actually working on your business instead of deciphering confusing numbers and performing market research.

Using an expert also allows entrepreneurs and business owners to save money by knowing which sections need to be included in the plan and when. The business plan writer or consultant uses their expertise to know what is important when it comes to presenting a business plan that will get the desired results.

The cost of hiring someone to write a quality business plan depends on the scope and complexity of your plan and the expertise and knowledge of the business plan consultant that you use. Although fees can vary greatly, they are typically in the range of $5,000 – $25,000 with different fee structures given for writing or consulting services.

When it comes to business plan development, you pay for what you get. If you hire a cheap business plan writer, you shouldn’t expect a high-quality document that will impress investors and banks. It’s not just the writing style that you need to be concerned with. The quality of the information and resources included in your plan is key when it comes to impressing potential investors and lenders so you shouldn’t expect a cheap writer to include all of the necessary components of a business plan to point you in the right direction for success.

Finding a writer can be as easy as searching on Google for a “Chicago business plan writer.” You will find a variety of business plan writers and consultants with differing levels of expertise. You should then review the consultants’ websites, online reviews, professional credentials, and education.

After narrowing down the list of potential consultants, you should have a phone call with them to ensure that you are the right fit and that they can meet your business goals. Business plan writers and consultants should be able to discuss their experience and methodology, and how they differ from others in the field so you can choose the right person for your business.

Chicago Business Plan Writing Resources

The US Small Business Association Chicago District: https://www.sba.gov/offices/district/il/chicago 

City of Chicago’s Small Business Center: https://www.chicago.gov/city/en/sites/chicago-business-licensing/home.html 

Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce: https://www.chicagolandchamber.org/sbdc/ 

The Chicago chapter of SCORE: https://www.score.org/chicago 

World Business Chicago: https://worldbusinesschicago.com/ 

DuPage County’s Economic Development: https://www.choosedupage.com/ 

Lake County Partners: https://www.lakecountypartners.com/