Dr. Paul Borosky, DBA, MBA
Business Plan Writer & Financial Projections
How to Write an Ecommerce Business Plan
A Sale Is Not Profit Until You Subtract What It Cost to Get It.
Online stores can grow fast and still lose money on every order once ads, shipping, and returns are counted. Business plan writer Dr. Paul Borosky, DBA, MBA, shows you how to plan products, channels, ad spend, fulfillment, and repeat customers so the numbers hold up per order.
Last Updated: 11/09/2026 · Written by Dr. Paul Borosky, DBA, MBA
The Short Version
What Does an Ecommerce Business Plan Need to Prove?
Short Answer
An ecommerce plan has to prove each order makes money after product cost, shipping, payment fees, fulfillment, and the ad cost to win the customer. Show average order value, contribution per order, customer acquisition cost, repeat purchase rate, and how you will drive traffic that converts.
Profit per first order = average order − product cost − shipping − fees − pick and pack − ad cost per order
Doctor Owl, in Plain English
“A sale that cost more than it earned is just expensive applause.”
How This Guide Works
Each question below covers one part of an ecommerce plan. Darby the Dormouse, an online shop owner from the world of Dr. Paul’s Fabled Forest Business School Series, shows up in short gold notes. The per-order math sits in one marked section.
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Business Plan Writing
FeaturedA lender- and investor-ready ecommerce plan with unit economics, channels, and growth, written by Dr. Paul.
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Industry Word plans and Excel models you can adapt to an online store.
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Free guides, videos, and the Fabled Forest books on marketing.
Start learning →From Dr. Paul’s Fabled Forest
Meet Darby: Busiest Shop in the Forest, Quietest Bank Account
Darby the Dormouse runs Darby’s Doorstep Shop from a cozy burrow, shipping handmade goods all over the forest. Orders pour in every night.
Darby buys a lot of ads to get those orders. Darby has never checked what each order costs. Doctor Owl arrives on a busy shipping day and helps tape boxes.
Section 1
How Do You Describe the Online Business?
Describe what you sell, how it is made or sourced, and your model: your own website, marketplaces, social selling, subscriptions, or wholesale. Explain your platform, payment processing, and how you handle shipping, returns, and customer service. List business registration, sales tax collection, and any product rules.
In the Fabled Forest
Darby sells candles, mittens, maps, and tea. Doctor Owl asks which product people buy twice. Tea, by a mile.
Section 2
Who Is Your Customer?
Describe your buyer and why they choose you over big marketplaces: uniqueness, quality, a niche, gifting, or values. Map online competitors and their prices and reviews. Be careful with numbers that look good but do not pay, like followers. Dr. Paul explains long-tail marketing for niche sellers.
In the Fabled Forest
Darby’s followers love the candle photos. The tea buyers are the ones who come back. Doctor Owl suggests the photos feature tea.
Section 3
How Will You Drive Traffic That Converts?
This is the marketing heart of the plan. Show your channels: search, paid social, email, influencers, marketplaces, and content. For each, set a budget and expected cost per order. Plan email and repeat offers, since a second order costs much less than the first. Track conversion rate and cart abandonment.
In the Fabled Forest
Darby spends most of the ad budget on candles, which people buy once. Doctor Owl moves half of it to tea and starts an email list.
Section 4
How Do You Plan Fulfillment?
Explain how orders are picked, packed, and shipped: from home, a small warehouse, or a fulfillment partner. Show packaging cost, shipping rates, and return handling. Plan inventory: how much to order, reorder points, and how you avoid running out of best sellers. The courier plan guide covers local delivery.
In the Fabled Forest
Darby packs every order in a hand-sewn pouch. It takes twenty minutes each. Doctor Owl suggests the pouch be a paid gift option.
Section 5
What Belongs in the Projections and the Ask?
Build revenue from traffic, conversion, and average order, by channel and month. Show product cost, shipping, fees, fulfillment, ads, software, and payroll. Include inventory purchases, which tie up cash before sales. If raising money, show how it funds inventory and marketing with returns you can measure. The financial projections guide covers the statements.
In the Fabled Forest
Doctor Owl writes one number on Darby’s packing table: profit per first order. Darby stares at it, then at the tea.
The Numbers
Does Each Online Order Make Money?
Example numbers only. Assumptions: a $58 average order, $19 product cost, $7.50 shipping, payment fees of 3% plus $0.30, $2.20 to pick and pack, and $18 in ads to win a new customer.
| Line | How it is figured | Per order |
|---|---|---|
| Average order | Revenue per order | $58.00 |
| Product cost | What the goods cost | −$19.00 |
| Shipping | Label and box | −$7.50 |
| Payment fees | 3% × $58 + $0.30 | −$2.04 |
| Pick and pack | Labor and materials | −$2.20 |
| Contribution before ads | Order minus costs | $27.26 |
| Ad cost per new customer | Ad spend ÷ new orders | −$18.00 |
| Profit on first order | Contribution minus ads | $9.26 |
Step 1: Repeat orders. A second order needs little or no ad spend, so it earns close to the full $27.26
Step 2: Ad creep. If ad cost per order rises to $28, every first order loses about $0.74
Step 3: Free shipping. Offering free shipping without raising prices cuts contribution to $19.76
Step 4: Your version. Calculate contribution per order by product. Cap ad spend below it
For a real example, see how Dr. Paul planned a St. Petersburg founder building a collectors marketplace on the St. Petersburg business plan writer page.
Illustrative numbers. Costs vary by product, platform, and carrier.
In the Fabled Forest
Darby sets an ad limit per order and starts a tea subscription. Orders slow a little. Profit grows a lot.
Watch
Watch: How to Write an Ecommerce Business Plan
Dr. Paul covers an ecommerce business plan, section by section, on video.
Step by Step
How Do You Write an Ecommerce Plan, Step by Step?
Six steps, per-order math first.
Define products and model.
Website, marketplace, social, or subscription.
Know the buyer.
Who buys and who buys again.
Plan channels and ad limits.
Budget and cost per order by channel.
Plan fulfillment.
Packing, shipping, returns, and inventory.
Build per-order math.
Contribution and acquisition cost.
Write the request and summary.
Inventory, marketing, and working capital.
In the Fabled Forest
Doctor Owl tapes a card above Darby’s packing table: know the profit per order before you buy the next ad.
Go Deeper
Where Can You Learn to Market for Profit, Not Applause?
Choosing channels and measuring what they return is marketing done right. Dr. Paul’s Fabled Forest Business School teaches marketing through Doctor Owl and owners who learn the difference between attention and income.
Every chapter includes a one-page worksheet.
A Business Consultant’s View
Where Do Ecommerce Plans Go Wrong?
Dr. Paul Borosky, DBA, MBA · Business Plan Writer
Ecommerce plans Dr. Paul reviews often show fast revenue growth driven by ads, with no line for ad cost per order. Lenders and investors want contribution per order, acquisition cost, and repeat rate. He uses Organize-Plan-Grow™: organize the real cost of each order, plan channels and ad limits around it, then grow the products customers buy again.
FAQ
What Do Online Sellers Ask About Their Business Plan?
What numbers matter most for an online store?
Should I sell on marketplaces or my own website?
How much should I spend on ads?
Can an ecommerce business get a loan?
Keep Going
What Other Retail Plans Work the Same Way?
Want Dr. Paul to Write Your Ecommerce Business Plan?
Dr. Paul writes ecommerce plans with unit economics, channel strategy, fulfillment, and three years of projections for lenders and investors.
Written by Dr. Paul Borosky, DBA, MBA, business plan writer.
Education only. Not legal, tax, or financial advice. Figures are examples. Fabled Forest characters are fictional. Sales tax rules vary by state.