How to Create a Solid Business Plan for a Mobile App Startup

Mobile apps are the modern way to conduct everyday tasks, stay connected with your favorite stores, and have fun by playing games. 

Create a solid business plan for a mobile app startup by:

• Defining the problem your mobile app solves. 
• Conducting a SWOT analysis. 
• Evaluating your target market. 
• Choosing your company entity. 
• Create a solid marketing plan.
• Write the business plan. 

Capitalize on a business opportunity and create a mobile app startup. While you can have a physical headquarters when creating a mobile app, you can reduce overhead costs by creating an app in a virtual office or right in the comfort of your own home. 

Define the Problem Your Mobile App Solves

For every business, you must consider a redundant problem in people’s lives that you are trying to solve. This mobile app could solve the same problem as other mobile apps do. However, you must have an edge and/or a niche that is different from the other mobile apps on the market. 

Do some research to find different problems that have not been solved yet or problems that can be solved in a new way. Whether you think about problems you, friends, or family have experienced in the past or conduct a Google search, you can find a few problems that could use solving to find your ultimate “aha” moment in discovering what mobile app you’d like to create!

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The Importance of Finding a Niche As Seen on Disney Channel

Here’s a playful example of the importance of finding a niche when creating your mobile startup app. 

Think about that new episode of The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder from Disney Channel. Penny Proud and her friends were tired of relying on their parents for rides home from school. Most of the time, they forgot to pick them up from school or another venue quite frequently throughout the episode. 

Penny had the idea for a mobile app called Get In! that drove preteens and teenagers home from school and other venues. Eventually, it became nationally and globally used until a scandal shut the operation down. (Watch the episode to find out!). 

While this is only a Disney cartoon, it’s a great example of thinking about a problem and finding a niche. Third-party driving apps such as Uber and Lyft pick up people no matter their age. In the episode, the app was niched for kids that needed a ride home from school so that they did not have to rely on their parents or guardians to pick them up that usually were otherwise busy. 

Conduct a SWOT Analysis

SWOT is known as an important business analysis to discover a startup’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats. Every business, even a mobile app startup, should conduct a SWOT analysis to see where they stand before opening day. As time goes on and your business grows, you should continue to add to your SWOT analysis if anything new occurs in the local or national market of your mobile app’s related industry. 

Let’s go over what to include for each section of your SWOT analysis so that it’s thorough, considering the potential for every section. 

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Strengths

Strengths are what make your mobile app great. It could be an easy-to-use app interface or the fact that it may be the only app of its kind on the Play Store or Apple Store. 

Strengths can be: 

• Related to ease of usage throughout the app. 
• How interested potential users are in downloading the app. 
• How many users downloaded your app within the first month. 
• What you already have set up for advertisements and in-app purchases to make money. 
• Having an IT individual on board that keeps the app operational. 

Weaknesses

Weaknesses are what your mobile app company needs to improve. Maybe it’s difficult to achieve well-rounded customer service because you are currently short-staffed as a startup. Perhaps your mobile app startup is so niched that not many people are downloading your app after launch day. 

Weaknesses can be:

• Bugs in the app. 
• The app crashes and needs maintenance. 
• Not enough users downloading your app. 
• Low barrier to entry in your app’s market. 
• Not enough marketing to promote your mobile app. 

Opportunities

Opportunities are what can make the business better in the future. Keep up with the current news in your app’s industry to catch opportunities. They can even be seen when going through your app and brainstorming new ideas for how you can improve it. 

Opportunities can be:

• More options to set up in-app purchases for users (money-making opportunity). 
• Add in a customer support ticket option in the app (boost quality customer service). 
• New features added to the app (increases app’s versatility). 
• More people want to use your app for the intended purpose (increases users). 
• Implement something in the app which your clients are requesting (listening to your loyal customers). 

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Threats

Threats are what will try to hinder your business from success. It could be something in your app’s industry such as a new app in your niche that could attempt to threaten your success because that would mean new competition. 

Other threats could be:

• Something wrong with the app to where it needs maintenance. 
• Too many bad reviews of your app on the Play Store or Apple Store. 
• Not as many users download your app in certain months compared to others. 
• Not as many people click on advertisements in your app to help you make money. 

Evaluate Your Target Market

What people would want to use your app? How does using your app help to solve that problem that you recognized earlier on? 

Evaluating your target market will help you to decide how to market your app overall. From the lingo used for written ads and television commercials to how your ad campaigns pan out, it all starts with analyzing the target market. For example, you would advertise differently if your target market were seniors versus if it were millennials. Seniors will not understand someone saying “Hashtag: cute girl world” if they are watching an Instagram commercial. However, millennials would know what the phrase means. 

Your target market should be classified with demographics including:

• Gender. 
• Age bracket. 
• Monetary status (lower, middle, or upper class).
• Hobbies.
• Education level. 
• Marital status.
• Ethnic background. 

Once you know the problem that you want your app to solve, you can then figure out the target market demographics for the people that will be positively affected using your app. 

Choose Your Company Entity

Even with a mobile app startup, you must choose your company entity. Whether an Individual/Sole Proprietorship, Partnership, or LLC, it’s fairly simple to choose one once you know how you want your mobile app company to operate.

If you know how to code and build an app and you have the ideas to make it a success, you can be an individual or Sole Proprietor. This means that the business is only your own and that you are responsible for all of the business expenses. Usually, you would file your earnings on your tax return because Sole Proprietors claim their earnings using their Social Security Number or Tax ID Number. 

If you are in business with a partner or have additional business partners beyond the first, you would form a Partnership. This means that each person is equally personally responsible for the business if it were to go into bankruptcy or face some form of a lawsuit. Business Partnerships must fill out Form 1065 on an annual basis. 

Forming a Limited Liability Company (LLC) means that all people involved in the company are not personally responsible if the business were to go into debt. There are protections for company members where business assets and other insurance protection can cover debts. 

Create a Solid Marketing Plan 

Create a solid marketing plan by:

• Considering your target market. 
• Utilizing different media outlets including television, radio, social media, etcetera. 
• Brainstorming print ad ideas. 
• Including 3 key features of the app in each piece of marketing. 
• Reassuring your logo is the same and plastered throughout all marketing. 

Write the Business Plan

Once you have gathered all this information, dive in and write the business plan. If you are not comfortable with your writing abilities, you can outsource this to a Freelance Writer or a trusted family member 

If you need help drawing up your balance sheets, sales projections, and other financial documents, consider Enloop. Input. Simply input your figures and it will create professional graphs and charts for you. It’s a business planning companion that can even help you write the rest of the document. The app is split into categories for you to input what you want to say for each business plan section. 

Consider these other smartphone apps that can help you with writing your business plan. 

Go to sba.gov for business plan templates to help you organize all your marketing plans, financial projections, target market analyses, and more!

Final Thoughts About Mobile App Startup Business Plans

Mobile apps can be challenging to create when it comes to the coding and IT aspects of it. However, you can outsource this portion of your business to a Freelance IT Professional if you need some assistance. 

Generate your mobile app startup today and get the ball rolling on your entrepreneurship dreams!

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Frequently Asked Questions

Q: How can I find a Freelance Writer to help me with my business plan?

A: Consider content mill companies such as Upwork, Textbroker, or WordAgents to help you create your business plan. Freelance Writers advertise their services on Fiverr, too. 

Q: Where can I find a Freelance IT Professional?

A: Find a Freelance IT Professional on Upwork or Fiverr.

To learn more on how to plan your own mobile app business click here!

Please note that the contents of this blog are for informational and entertainment purposes only and should not be construed as legal advice. Any action taken based on the information provided in this blog is solely at your own risk. Additionally, all images used in this blog are generated under the CC0 license of Creative Commons, which means they are free to use for any purpose without attribution.