How to Make a Good Business Plan: 10 Steps To Set Your IEC Business Up For Success

Launching an independent educational consulting (IEC) business is a meaningful way to help students and families navigate the college admissions process. However, without a clear plan, it can be difficult to define your services, attract the right clients, and grow sustainably.

Creating a comprehensive business plan gives you the structure you need to organize your ideas, clarify your goals, and make confident decisions as you build your IEC practice.

What is a Comprehensive Business Plan?

A business plan is a document that explains what your business does, how it makes money, and who its customers are. It serves as a blueprint for achieving business goals and tracking your successes. With a clear business plan, entrepreneurs can outline strategies, conduct research, and gather the necessary information to stay organized throughout the process.

It’s important to remember that business plans are living documents, meaning they will change over time. Startups like IEC businesses should regularly update their business plans as they begin to identify their customers and determine which services best fit their needs. Once your business is established, a full review annually is typically sufficient, with smaller updates as your services, pricing, or goals evolve.

10 Steps to Writing a Business Plan

Starting an independent educational consulting business is exciting, but turning your vision into a sustainable, profitable company requires a clear roadmap. A well-structured business plan helps you define your services, identify your ideal families, map out your marketing strategy, and set realistic financial goals. Whether you’re just getting started or refining an existing practice, the following 10 steps will guide you through building a business plan tailored specifically to educational consultants.

1. Write an Executive Summary

An executive summary is your elevator pitch; it should include your mission statement and a brief description of the services your IEC business will offer. Additionally, a high-level summary of your financing growth plans will help you track your spending and revenue goals.

Although the executive summary is the first thing readers will see in your business plan, it may be easier to write it last. That way, you can highlight information that you’ve identified while writing other sections that go into more detail.

2. Describe Your Company

Next, provide your company description, including your business name, an address (if applicable), your name, and the names of employees if your business grows.

Your company description should also specify your business structure, such as sole proprietorship, partnership, or corporation. Include the percent ownership that each owner has and the extent of each owner's involvement. Write a brief explanation of the history of your company and the nature of your business now. This prepares the reader for the goals you will outline in the next section.

3. State Your Business Goals

The third step of your business plan will include an objective statement. This should explain what you would like to accomplish in the near future and long term. You can use this section to explain how you hope your business will grow and the steps you will take to get there. It’s important to be as detailed as possible to describe what kind of clients you would like to work with and what you would like to help them achieve.

4. Outline Your IEC Services

In this section, go into detail about the specific IEC services you will be offering.

Include the following information:

• An explanation of how your services work
• The pricing model of your services
• The typical client you serve

This will give you and the reader a clear understanding of exactly what it is you will be offering. Highlight any specific services that will make you stand out from other IEC businesses.

5. Determine Your Pricing Model

Your pricing strategy is one of the most important decisions you will make as an independent educational consultant. It impacts your revenue, workload, positioning, and the type of families you attract.

Consider the following when developing your pricing model:

• Flat fee vs. hourly vs. package pricing: Many IECs choose comprehensive packages for juniors and seniors, while others offer hourly consulting or smaller strategy sessions.
• Market positioning: Are you positioning your services as premium, boutique support, or more accessible and flexible? Your pricing should align with the audience you want to serve.
• Capacity-based pricing: Determine how many students you can realistically support per graduating class. Your pricing should reflect both your time investment and your desired annual income.
• Annual revenue goals: Reverse engineer your revenue target. For example, if your goal is $120,000 annually and you plan to work with 20 students, your average package would need to generate $6,000 per student.

If you are unsure how to structure your pricing, reviewing industry benchmarks can help you make informed decisions. You can explore our IEC Pricing Guide to better understand how consultants structure their fees and packages.

6. Conduct Market Research

Lenders and investors will want to know what sets your product apart from your competition. In your market analysis, explain who your competitors are and discuss why they do well and how you can do better. If you are serving a different or underserved market, be sure to explain that in detail.

7. Identify Sales Efforts and Marketing Strategies

Address how you plan to market your services to your customers or how you will build customer loyalty that will lead to a trusting community of clients. It’s important to remember that strategies such as sales and marketing will evolve over time. For now, prioritize identifying your ideal customers and target audiences and how you plan to reach them.

Include descriptions of how your messaging will resonate with your target audience specifically, how you will attract your customer base, and details of your sales process. Using data from your market research to demonstrate that your marketing strategy will be effective will help you maintain a sharp focus on your overall strategy.

8. Create a Business Financial Analysis

Finding software that can track invoices, payments, and revenue will help you better understand the financial health of your IEC business. While traditional business plans often include complex financial ratios, most independent educational consultants benefit more from tracking practical, day-to-day performance metrics.

Consider outlining and reviewing the following:

• Revenue per student: The average revenue generated from each client helps you evaluate pricing and profitability.
• Capacity per class year: Determine how many students you can realistically support at one time while maintaining quality service.
• Annual revenue targets: Set clear income goals based on your pricing model and desired caseload.
• Client acquisition cost: Estimate how much time or money you spend to gain each new family through marketing, referrals, or events.

If you plan to grow a team, seek funding, or scale into a larger organization, you may eventually choose to track more traditional financial metrics such as profit margins or cash flow ratios. For most solo and small IEC practices, however, focusing on revenue, capacity, and sustainability will provide the most useful financial insight.

This is also a great opportunity to use charts or simple projections to visualize your expected growth and financial goals.

9. Create an Appendix

Create an Appendix

Your appendix is where you can store supporting materials that reinforce and clarify your business plan. For independent educational consultants, this section is less about formal corporate documentation and more about organizing the tools and resources that support your services and operations.

Consider including:

• Sample service packages or pricing sheets

• Client agreement or contract templates

• Intake forms or student questionnaires

• Example timelines for working with students (junior year, senior year, transfer students, etc.)

• Marketing materials such as brochures, website screenshots, or referral partnership ideas

• Professional credentials, certifications, or relevant training

• Technology tools you plan to use to manage students, communication, and workflows

These materials help bring your business plan to life by showing how your services will actually function in practice. They can also be useful reference points as you refine your processes and onboard new clients.

10. Regularly Update Your Business Plan

Your business plan should be updated regularly to reflect your current state and market changes. Reviews will help you assess how well you are meeting your goals, adjusting to changes, or how realistic your financial targets are. Most experts recommend revisiting your plan at a minimum of annually. Market changes or global events should also prompt a quick review.

Take Advantage of IEC Business Management Resources

As your IEC business grows, staying organized and maintaining strong client relationships is just as important as delivering great guidance. Tools like CollegePlannerPro are designed specifically for educational consultants, helping you streamline day-to-day operations so you can focus on your students. From tracking invoices and payments to centralizing communication and managing tasks, the platform makes it easier to keep everything in one place.

Clear workflows and transparent interactions not only improve your efficiency but also build trust with the families you work with. Not only will this provide a more professional experience that supports long-term success for your business, but it will also help you stay organized and proactive in building a business plan that works for you.

Book a demo today to learn how CollegePlannerPro can help you grow your IEC business.