Business Plans | South Carolina Business One Stop

The success of your business venture is our mission, and it all starts with a solid business plan. Turning your ideas into a business reality begins with lots of research and then creating a written business plan.

A formal, written business plan is the roadmap to realizing your business dreams. Like the research, business plans can vary depending on the industry or field. In general, your business plan should be based on your in-depth research and include detailed descriptions/definitions of the following:

Your product or service
Target customers
Existing and potential demand for your product or service,
Suppliers
Marketing and advertising plans
Labor needs
Funding/financing needs
Financial projections
Business structure type
Business name
Location

There are many formats your business plan can take depending on your industry or field. In general, the format for a traditional business plan includes the following sections:

Executive summary
Company description
Market analysis
Organization and management
Service or product line
Marketing and sales
Funding request
Financial projections
Supporting documents/materials

Selecting a business name is one of the first steps to starting a business. South Carolina law requires that the name of a Corporation, L.L.C., L.P., and an L.L.P. is distinguishable from the name of any other business of the same type on record with the Secretary of State's office.

Learn if your business name is available by using the South Carolina Secretary of State’s Business Name Search.

This search tool helps you determine if your business entity's legal name may be available for use. It is only a preliminary search, meaning the name cannot be guaranteed as available until the final processing is completed at the time of filing. Do not rely, in any way, upon this preliminary information.