Uber Business Plan Template

Uber Business Plan

Over the past 20+ years, we have helped over 1,000 entrepreneurs and business owners create business plans to start and grow their businesses. On this page, we will first give you some background information with regards to the importance of business planning. We will then go through an Uber business plan template step-by-step so you can create your plan today.

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What is an Uber Business Plan?

A business plan provides a snapshot of your business as it stands today, and lays out your growth plan for the next five years. It explains your business goals and your strategy for reaching them. It also includes market research to support your plans.

Why You Need a Business Plan for an Uber Business

If you’re looking to start an Uber business, or grow your existing business, you need a business plan. A business plan will help you raise funding, if needed, and plan out the growth of your business in order to improve your chances of success. Your business plan is a living document that should be updated annually as your company grows and changes.

Sources of Funding for Uber Businesses

With regards to funding, the main sources of funding for an Uber business are personal savings, and credit cards. Personal savings and bank loans are the most common funding paths for Uber businesses.

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How To Write a Business Plan For an Uber Business

If you want to start an Uber business or expand your current one, you need a business plan. Below we detail what should be included in each section of your business plan.

Executive Summary

Your executive summary provides an introduction to your business plan, but it is normally the last section you write because it provides a summary of each key section of your plan.

The goal of your Executive Summary is to quickly engage the reader. Explain to them the type of Uber business you are operating and its status. For example, are you a startup, do you have a business that you would like to grow, or are you operating businesses in multiple markets?

Next, provide an overview of each of the subsequent sections of your plan. For example, give a brief overview of the Uber industry. Discuss the type of Uber business you are operating and your business model. Detail your direct competitors. Give an overview of your target customers. Provide a snapshot of your marketing plan. Identify the key members of your team. And offer an overview of your financial plan.

 

Company Analysis

In your company analysis, you will detail the type of business you are operating.

For example, you might operate one of the following types of Uber businesses:

1. Uber Green: this type of Uber uses electric vehicles.
2. UberX: this type of Uber provides rides for 1-3 customers in a car.
3. UberXL: this type of provides rides for groups up to 5 in a minivan or van.
4. Uber Delivery: this type of Uber provides local deliveries, of food ordered via the Uber Eats platform, or of packages under 50 pounds.
5. Uber Freight: this type of Uber hauls freight over long distances, choosing which loads to haul via the Uber Freight platform

In addition to explaining the type of Uber business you will operate, the Company Analysis section of your business plan needs to provide background on the business.

Include answers to questions such as:

• When and why did you start the business?
• What is your Uber business model? How will you make money using Uber?
• What milestones have you achieved to date? Milestones could include the number of persons assisted, the prestige of clientele served, etc.
• Your legal structure. Are you incorporated as an S-Corp? An LLC? A sole proprietorship? Explain your legal structure here.

Industry Analysis

In your industry analysis, you need to provide an overview of the Uber industry.

While this may seem unnecessary, it serves multiple purposes.

First, researching the Uber industry educates you. It helps you understand the market in which you are operating.

Secondly, market research can improve your strategy, particularly if your research identifies market trends.

The third reason for market research is to prove to readers that you are an expert in your industry. By conducting the research and presenting it in your plan, you achieve just that.

The following questions should be answered in the industry analysis section:

• How big is the Uber industry (in dollars)?
• Is the market declining or increasing?
• Who are the key competitors in the market?
• Who are the key suppliers in the market?
• What trends are affecting the industry?
• What is the industry’s growth forecast over the next 5 – 10 years?
• What is the relevant market size? That is, how big is the potential market for your Uber business? You can extrapolate such a figure by assessing the size of the market in the entire country and then applying that figure to your local population.

 

Customer Analysis

The customer analysis section must detail the customers you serve and/or expect to serve.

The following are examples of customer segments: individuals, groups, and manufacturers.

As you can imagine, the customer segment(s) you choose will have a great impact on your business. Clearly, your business structure would be far different for freight than for individual rides, for example.

Try to break out your target customers in terms of their demographic and psychographic profiles. With regards to demographics, include a discussion of the ages, genders, locations and income levels of the customers you seek to serve. Because most Uber businesses primarily serve customers living in the same city or town, such demographic information is easy to find on government websites.

Psychographic profiles explain the wants and needs of your target customers. The more you can understand and define these needs, the better you will do in attracting and retaining your customers.

Competitive Analysis

Your competitive analysis should identify the indirect and direct competitors your business faces and then focus on the latter.

Direct competitors are other Uber drivers.

Indirect competitors are other options that customers have to purchase from that aren’t direct competitors. This includes individuals who have their own car, or drive a rental car, or independent trucking companies.

With regards to direct competition, you want to describe the other Uber drivers with which you compete. Most likely, your direct competitors will be Uber drivers located very close to your location.

For each such competitor, provide an overview of their businesses and document their strengths and weaknesses. Unless you once worked at your competitors’ businesses, it will be impossible to know everything about them. But you should be able to find out key things about them such as:

• What types of customers do they serve?
• Do they specialize in specific services (i.e. luxury transportation, courier services, etc.)?
• What is their pricing (premium, low, etc.)?
• What are they good at?
• What are their weaknesses?

With regards to the last two questions, think about your answers from the customers’ perspective. And don’t be afraid to ask your competitors’ customers what they like most and least about them.

The final part of your competitive analysis section is to document your areas of competitive advantage. For example:

• Will you provide a wider range of services?
• Will you offer greater convenience, such as early morning and/or late night hours?
• Will you provide any in-car amenities, such as mints or bottled water?
• Will you offer better pricing?

Think about ways you will outperform your competition and document them in this section of your plan.
 

Marketing Plan

Traditionally, a marketing plan includes the four P’s: Product, Price, Place, and Promotion. For an Uber driver, your marketing plan should include the following:

Product: In the product section, you should reiterate the type of Uber that you documented in your Company Analysis. Then, detail the specific products you will be offering. For example, in addition to cross-town trips, will your Uber business provide rides between cities?

Price: Document the prices you will offer and how they compare to your competitors. Essentially in the product and price sub-sections of your marketing plan, you are presenting the services you offer and their prices.

Place: Place refers to the location of your Uber business. Document your location and mention how the location will impact your success. For example, will your car or fleet be centrally located, to capture the greatest market share? In this section, discuss how your location will affect the demand for your services.

Promotions: The final part of your Uber marketing plan is the promotions section. Here you will document how you will drive customers to your location(s). The following are some promotional methods you might consider the following marketing campaigns:

• Advertising in local papers and magazines
• Reaching out to local websites
• Signs and billboards
• Flyers
• Social media marketing
• Local radio advertising

Finish Your Business Plan Today!

If you’d like to quickly and easily complete your business plan, download Growthink’s Ultimate Business Plan Template and complete your plan and financial model in hours.

Operations Plan

While the earlier sections of your business plan explained your goals, your operations plan describes how you will meet them. Your operations plan should have two distinct sections as follows.

Everyday short-term processes include all of the tasks involved in running your business, including getting regular oil changes, cleaning the interior after each customer, washing the exterior regularly, purchasing water/mints, etc.

Long-term goals are the milestones you hope to achieve. These could include the dates when you expect to complete your 1,000^th ride, or when you hope to reach $X in revenue. It could also be when you expect to launch in new markets.
 

Management Team

To demonstrate your ability to succeed, a strong management team is essential. Highlight your key players’ backgrounds, emphasizing those skills and experiences that prove their ability to grow a company.

Ideally, you and/or your team members have direct experience in managing Uber businesses. If so, highlight this experience and expertise. But also highlight any experience that you think will help your business succeed.

If your team is lacking, consider assembling an advisory board. An advisory board would include 2 to 8 individuals who would act like mentors to your business. They would help answer questions and provide strategic guidance. If needed, look for advisory board members with experience in passenger transportation, or successfully running small businesses.
 

Financial Plan

Your financial plan should include your 5-year financial statement broken out both monthly or quarterly for the first year and then annually. Your financial statements include your income statement, balance sheet, and cash flow statements.

Income Statement: an income statement is more commonly called a Profit and Loss statement or P&L. It shows your revenues and then subtracts your costs to show whether you turned a profit or not.

In developing your income statement, you need to devise assumptions. For example, will you give 10 rides per day, or 20? And will sales grow by 2% or 10% per year? As you can imagine, your choice of assumptions will greatly impact the financial forecasts for your business. As much as possible, conduct research to try to root your assumptions in reality.

Balance Sheets: Balance sheets show your assets and liabilities. While balance sheets can include much information, try to simplify them to the key items you need to know about. For instance, if you spend $50,000 on building out your Uber business, this will not give you immediate profits. Rather it is an asset that will hopefully help you generate profits for years to come. Likewise, if a bank writes you a check for $50,000, you don’t need to pay it back immediately. Rather, that is a liability you will pay back over time.

Cash Flow Statement: Your cash flow statement will help determine how much money you need to start or grow your business, and make sure you never run out of money. What most entrepreneurs and business owners don’t realize is that you can turn a profit but run out of money and go bankrupt.

In developing your Income Statement and Balance Sheets be sure to include several of the key costs needed in starting or growing a business:

• Office build-out including fixtures, construction, etc.
• Cost of buying or leasing a company vehicle
• Cost of office supplies such as software
• Payroll or salaries paid to staff
• Business insurance
• Taxes and permits
• Legal expenses

 

Appendix

Attach your full financial projections in the appendix of your plan along with any supporting documents that make your plan more compelling. For example, you might include your car or fleet specs, or an overview of all the amenities or services you provide.
 

Summary

Putting together a business plan for your Uber business is a worthwhile endeavor. If you follow the template above, by the time you are done, you will truly be an expert. You will really understand the Uber industry, your competition, and your customers. You will have developed a marketing plan and will really understand what it takes to launch and grow a successful business.
 

 

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