How to Make Easy Online Course Business Plan +Template

Congratulations! You have finally decided to make your online course business plan, which even sounds daunting to you. 

But this guide and template are not about writing one of those long, formal business plans for investors. So you can breathe out. Instead, it is a simple, lean business plan adapted for your course business.

Throughout this guide, you will find actionable insights and real-world tips from seasoned experts like Noelle Randall, a successful coach and entrepreneur, and Gillian Perkins, a business strategist and content creator.

To get started, download the “Online Course Business Plan Template” to fill out as we go. By the end, you will have a solid plan that shows exactly how your course business will work. 

Why do you need a business plan?

Writing a business plan is something that some consider a waste of time. You probably thought my business idea for a course business is great, and that is why I am sure it will work out. It definitely will. But the question is how? Your online course business plan is the answer to that one question. 

I am not speaking about a stiff, 50-page document that is more like an academic project than your actual plan to succeed. I am referring to something that helps you answer the question: How will I get this course business off the ground and make it thrive?

The thing is, when you write a business plan, you start thinking about some aspects of your course business that you have not even crossed your mind. It helps to set realistic goals and milestones.  The moment you put it on the paper,  you understand what needs to be done for you to achieve your business goals.

Just like Noellee Randall says, 

“Most people fail in their businesses because they fail to have a plan. If you fail to plan, you are planning to fail. As a teacher and a coach, I know for a fact that those of my students who take the time to write their business plan actually have more success.”

 

Noelle Randall

Real estate entrepreneur, coach 

Let’s see what aspects you should pay attention to when writing a lean business plan for your course business. 

Fill in your business model canvas 

Before you even dive into the business plan template, I want you to take a step back and start with something a little more visual: the Business Model Canvas.

You could start with the business plan. But when you do, you will find that you do not have so many questions figured out yet. 

“As you work towards your business plan, you will likely not know the answers to all the questions, and you won’t have everything figured out. One of the purposes of writing a business plan is to become aware of those things you haven’t thought about yet”. 

 

Gillian Perkins

Business strategist, creator 

Once you fill it in, you can refer back to it when you work on the business plan template. 

So, what is the Business Model Canvas? And why should you care about it?

The Business Model Canvas was developed by Alexander Osterwalder (and other co-creators) in 2008. You can find the framework in the book Business Model Generation. It is made up of nine building blocks, and these blocks cover everything from your value proposition and customer segments to your revenue streams and key activities.

The official template is accessible on Strategyzer.

The simplest business plan for online course business 

The key elements of our lean business plan include your business overview, value proposition, product and services, marketing strategy, cost structure, revenue streams, goals, and key metrics. 

Let’s discuss each component one by one.  

#1 Online course business overview 

In this section, we define what your business does (it is not just selling online courses), how it operates, and what legal status it complies with. Accordingly, we pay attention to these points:

• Online course business name

This part is the easiest one. Just remember to choose a name that is memorable, meaningful, and in line with the value your course course business creates. You can check out our downloadable guide on “6 Ways To Name Your Brand”. 

• Legal business structure 

When starting a business, you decide which entity you should go with. So, is it a sole proprietorship, partnership, corporation, or perhaps LLC? If you have not yet chosen, consider the following. A sole proprietorship is better if you are starting as an individual creator. But if you have plans to grow into a company with a team, an LLC suits you better. 

• Your team responsibilities 

If you have a team, we should define who is doing what. Are you handling everything from course creation to marketing? Or do you have a video editor, a marketing assistant, and a customer support team to help out? Even if you start alone, you may decide to outsource some tasks. Whatever the case is, here you will mention your team structure. 

• Your online course business mission 

Your mission is your why. What is driving you to build this course business in the first place? For example, you want to help people with their careers or help them live healthier lives. 

• Unique selling proposition 

Your USP is what sets you apart from all the other course creators out there. Why should students choose your course over another? For example, if you have a different approach, you can define it in this section. 

#2 Value proposition 

When students browse through your courses, you want them to think, “This is exactly what I need.” Your value proposition is that promise you make to your students. You do not just offer your course content. You give them a result and transformation they will not find anywhere else. In this section, you can fill

• What problem do you solve?

You can base this on the pain points of your potential students. For example, you can help them fill a skill gap, a time issue, or maybe a specific direction. 

• How do your courses solve it?

This is the solution to the problem we touched on above. So, for each of those points, we would need to have a matching solution. For example, maybe you have a different approach that helps your students reach the same result much faster. 

• What results do your students get?

Finally, this is the transformation part. This is what your students walk away with after taking your courses. For example, maybe they can finally get a job or start their business. When you fill in this section of your business plan, think about your course outcomes overall. 

#3 Product and services 

It is not like you have a business where you sell multiple physical products. But still, we need to get clear on what you offer under your course business. 

• Your course offerings 

Even if you decide to just create courses, you will still need details like live courses, pre-recorded video courses, courses with one-time access, membership-based courses, etc. So here you can list and describe the type of courses you want to provide. 

• Additional services 

Besides the main courses, perhaps you want to offer additional services. For example, for other course products, you can write about your coaching services, meetings with you, digital downloads that you plan to create and sell, or a private community. You get the idea. 

• Format and delivery 

No, we are not going to define any format for every course you will ever launch.  Of course, later, you can have a mix of formats.  But think about your main focus. What format will keep your students the most engaged, depending on your niche?

• Pricing 

Please do not panic when it comes to pricing an online course. I used to ask pro course creators about how they determined and settled for a price. It may seem odd, but none of them followed a definite process or set of actions. But what they did know for sure was their pricing structure.  

That is whether you decide on a one-time fee, want to create plans for bigger courses, or just follow the subscription model. A lot of the other planning in this business plan will depend on this. So, describe your model as specific as you can. 

#4 Marketing strategy 

If you were to write a traditional business plan (yes, that 40-page document), you would include 3 of your business strategies: operational, financial, and marketing. So far, we touched upon the operational questions. The next important pillar is marketing. 

And just having your marketing strategy written down discovers answers to so many challenges you currently have. 

Related: How to Create an Online School Marketing Strategy + Templates

Market 

For this section, everything starts with a simple Google Search. Just google your market name to check the market size. You will later base your marketing strategies based on whether you are dealing with a small or large market. Or whether the market is mostly free or saturated. 

After you have your market size number, start researching some of your competitors. You can list at least 5 of them and even include a short SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats) analysis. 

Target audience

Did some of the questions in your online course business marketing plan already feel hard to answer? That is because we have not yet defined who you are creating your business around. 

Ask yourself:

• Who will benefit from my course business the most?
• What are their biggest struggles or aspirations? 

“If you don’t know what to put here, you should do research and make sure that this target customer that you have defined is someone that you can actually find groups of. Because if you can’t find the group of them, you might want to redefine that target customer”. 

 

Gillian Perkins

Business strategist, creator

You can fill in information like:

• Demographics: Age, location, job role, income.
• Psychographics: Interests, values, pain points, and goals.
• Where to find them. Which platforms are they hanging out on? Are they scrolling through LinkedIn, watching YouTube tutorials, or posting in Facebook groups?

Main strategies 

It is not mandatory to think about specific marketing strategies and include them in your online course business plan. You can skip this part for now. But you can put down the structure and funnel you follow once you develop the specific strategies. 

• Awareness strategy. This is about how the students will find out about your courses. For example, if you plan to use a specific social media account, your YouTube, offline events, or your website, you can list the options here. 
• Lead generation strategy. This part is mainly about how you use a particular channel to make a potential student take action. A common way may be placing lead magnets on your website if your website is your main marketing channel. 
• Conversion strategy. Here, you can list the strategies that make students enroll. It can be discounts, special events, bundles, etc. 

#5 Cost structure 

Now, let’s move to the financial sections of your online course business plan. You already have so much figured out. So, at this point, it is not hard to list where your investment and costs are going in. 

If you want to get into more detail, you will need a financial plan. But this is just a lean business plan, so it is not mandatory. 

You may list your potential costs, like

• Fixed costs. These include platform fees, software subscriptions, and if you have a team, their salaries. You can even calculate the fixed costs easily, unlike your variable costs. 
• Variable costs. These depend on the strategies you decoded above. They are related to marketing, content production, or some outsourcing. 

#6 Revenue streams 

We settled where you invest and spend your money. Now, how do you get the money? 

“People want to make money from their business, but they don’t plan how. You think, “Okay, I’m gonna make videos, and then I’m gonna charge. But how much are you going to charge? What type of packages would you do? You want to create a business that has a recurring revenue, no matter what the type of business is”.

 

Noelle Randall

Real estate entrepreneur, coach

As Noelle Randall mentioned, you need to build some source of recurring revenue opportunities. 

In the Product and Services section, we outlined some examples, like monetizing your community or running one-on-one calls with you. You can also earn

• From subscriptions, if you set your courses as subscription-based
• From affiliate partnerships, if you plan to partner with others or your students
• From selling digital downloads

Here, you should mention the channels and ways your revenue will be based on, even the monetization of your YouTube channel, for example. 

#7 Goals 

Most importantly, your online course business plan should include your business goals and milestones. And yes, “make lots of money” is not the goal. It is rather the result of your SMART goal setting. 

Make sure you make your goals specific as you fill in this section. You can have:

• Short-term goals (0-6 months): What do you want to achieve in the next few months (for example, launch the first course and get the first 100 students)?
• Mid-term goals (6-12 months): Goals for the next year (for example, expand course offerings and improve student retention).
• Long-term goals (1-3 years): Where do you see your business in a few years? (for example, build an online academy and create partnerships with organizations).

For each goal, you can define the key performance indicators. For example, if your goal was to get 10.000 leads in the first month, the KPIs could be the number of people who visited your lead capture page, conversion rates from email subscribers, and other channels. 

Let’s implement your online course business plan

A business plan is your foundation for a successful online course business. It helps you define your goals, understand your market, and map out how to make money while staying focused on what matters most. Instead of a complicated document, you now have a lean, actionable plan you can use right away.

If you are ready to put your plan into action, you need the right tools. That is where Uteach comes in. With Uteach, you can easily create, market, and sell your courses all from one platform. Automate your student management, host live classes, and design engaging learning experiences without needing tech skills. 

Let’s implement your online course business plan together. Book your free demo with our specialist and find out how.