Every business should be started with a plan. A plan provides a guideline for the business people involved to proceed in the right direction, and these guidelines form the foundation of the plan. If the business is small enough, all those who are involved directly in the business may come up with the plan. However, a large scale business may require professional help such as from a lawyer and an accountant to guide them through the steps in forming the plan and including vital information about the business for the future.

A joint venture business is no different in case of the requirement of a business plan. There are five main pointers to be included in this plan that are:

1. Executive summary - The executive summary is a short note on your business, its goals and a short description of your plans to reach that goal. It should form the introduction to your business plan so that anyone who reads it will only get a sneak peak into your business. Although it forms the beginning of your plan, you should form this at the end of everything so that you know exactly what to put into it.

2. Company description - A company description should not be too long. It should include what the joint venture is about and the number of partners involved. The share of each of these partners and the details of the product should be briefly mentioned. This description should not exceed more than two to three pages.

3. Market strategies - Before starting a business is it taken for granted that the investors are taking into account the current market situation of the particular product or service that is being sold. In order to form concrete market strategies to gain profit and beat competitors you must analyze the market and research on the existing businesses in the same niche.

4. Competitive analysis - Every market will have competitors posing a threat to your profit margin. Unless you are running a monopoly (which is hardly possible in case of a joint venture) you should analyze the market to understand which strategy to adopt in order to outrun your competitors. For this you also have to test the demand of the product or service you are selling. Depending on the existence of this demand you should tap into the customer base that is relatively untouched by others in the same line of production.

5. Financial projections - In order to be eligible for granting of loans and financial aid from banks and other institutions you need to have a detailed summary of the finances of your business. This should include any investment, capital or otherwise, made by you and your JV partner. You should also have a list of all assets, financial or otherwise, related to the business. This information should be projected professionally. Hire a lawyer and/or an accountant to get this done.

You may also include into your business plan any special production plan or managerial procedures that any joint venture (JV) may be adopting during the course of business. Seek help form the Small Business Administration for more help as needed at SBA.gov.