A management plan might seem pretty simple for a sole proprietorship. After all, you'll be the owner and the manager, and the buck will always stop with you. Even so, you should give some attention to the management plan portion of your business plan — and if you're looking at a more complex structure, you definitely need to consider how the business will be managed.

The management plan will detail who is going to run the business. This could be you, you in conjunction with one or more partners, a corporate board of directors, or your employees. For all of these people, you need to spell out exactly what their roles and responsibilities will be (job descriptions can be very helpful here).

Then you need to compare that to their qualifications, experience, skills, and education, so that you can demonstrate how each person will fulfill their duties. What are their strengths and weaknesses, for example? (This can be an interesting question to ask and answer for yourself, too.) If there are skills or knowledge that will be needed within the business, do you (or your management team) have them? If not, how will you acquire them?

Finally, you should give some thought to wages or salaries and benefits packages for the management team. This is equally important in a sole proprietorship that's providing your sole source of income — you need a sense of how much your personal living expenses and insurance coverages will be so that you can ensure the business is providing you with sufficient funds.