Dr. Paul Borosky, DBA, MBA
Business Plan Writer & Consultant
Pennsylvania Business Plan Writer: Name the Buyer Who Pays
Many Pennsylvania small businesses sell to warehouses along I-78 and I-81, plants across the Lehigh Valley and Western PA, or hospital systems. Before a loan officer signs off, every sales line needs a paying customer behind it. Dr. Paul’s plan names each one, down to the loading dock or purchasing office.
Know who will buy from you? Call or text (321) 948-9588. Dr. Paul answers personally.
Last Updated: 10/31/2026 · Written by Dr. Paul Borosky, DBA, MBA
City Spotlight
From the Navy Yard to Presque Isle: What Each Pennsylvania Plan Must Prove
Philadelphia lab work, a Pittsburgh food truck and an Erie summer business answer to very different lenders. Here is the question each city puts on the table.
| City | What Drives Demand | The Plan Question |
|---|---|---|
| Philadelphia | Penn and Drexel labs, University City hospitals, Flower Show visitors | Will a Business Lending Network lender fund lab services? |
| Pittsburgh | Picklesburgh and Anthrocon crowds, Downtown offices, Strip District shoppers | What loan request fits a single food truck? |
| Harrisburg | I-81 and I-78 warehouses, state agencies, Farm Show week | Will PA Catalyst fund vans before routes sign? |
| Allentown | Lehigh Valley plants, Musikfest crowds in Bethlehem, the Great Allentown Fair | What price still works for wholesale buyers? |
| Erie | Presque Isle and Waldameer visitors, Wabtec and Erie Insurance paychecks | Can Bridgeway Capital lending carry the winter? |
Penn spinouts have built a cell and gene therapy cluster, and the lab space keeps spreading from University City down to the Navy Yard.
“How does a Philadelphia lab services firm sell into the cell and gene therapy cluster?”
The Plan FixCount the therapy developers between University City and the Navy Yard, price your support per production run, and send the request through a lender in the Philadelphia Business Lending Network.
Picklesburgh fills Downtown and Market Square each July, and Anthrocon brings convention crowds to the David L. Lawrence Convention Center every summer.
“Can a Pittsburgh food vendor build a year around Picklesburgh and Anthrocon?”
The Plan FixLine up an Allegheny County mobile food permit and a Strip District commissary before you apply to Picklesburgh. Fill the rest of the year with Downtown office lunches and Strip District weekends, and size your request to the Urban Redevelopment Authority of Pittsburgh (URA) to the truck alone.
Harrisburg sits near where the I-81 and I-78 corridors meet, and the Capital Region Economic Development Corporation (CREDC) helps local owners reach the state-backed PA Catalyst Loan Fund.
“How does a Harrisburg last-mile delivery startup prove steady volume?”
The Plan FixLease vans only as fast as I-81 corridor warehouses sign route agreements. Count drops per day into Midtown and the Restaurant Row blocks Downtown, and size the PA Catalyst request through CREDC to the routes already signed.
The Allentown Economic Development Corporation runs Urban Made, a program for makers, with workshops near Hamilton Street in Center City Allentown.
“How should an Allentown maker price products for Lehigh Valley buyers?”
The Plan FixPrice each piece from material plus shop hours, test it on the August Musikfest crowds in nearby Bethlehem, and use Urban Made coaching before you chase Lehigh Valley wholesale accounts.
Presque Isle, Waldameer and the Bayfront draw summer crowds, while Wabtec and Erie Insurance keep paychecks coming all year.
“Can an Erie tourism business survive a lake effect winter?”
The Plan FixRun the Presque Isle months at full staff and cut to a winter crew from November. Court Wabtec and Erie Insurance employees for the cold months, and take the request to Bridgeway Capital’s Erie lending, which the Erie County Gaming Revenue Authority (ECGRA) helps fund.
Customers and suppliers rarely stop at the border. See Dr. Paul’s pages for nearby Ohio, New York, and New Jersey.
Choose How Your Pennsylvania Plan Gets Built
Sales forecasts get the hardest look in Pennsylvania loan files. Whatever help you choose here, the work starts with the plants, warehouses and hospitals that will actually sign your purchase orders.
Business Consulting
Selling to plants and warehouses means long payment terms, tight delivery windows and big-customer risk. Dr. Paul helps you sort out cash, pricing and hiring around them.
See consulting options →Business Plan Writing
FeaturedNamed customers, corridor wages and a request sized to the right loan fund, all in a full plan with projections that Dr. Paul writes for the reader you are pitching.
Start your plan →Business Plan Templates
The trucking company template splits loaded miles from empty ones in its Excel forecast, with the written plan in Word, for carriers hauling I-81 and I-78 freight.
Browse templates →Small Business Education
Free lessons, how-to videos and the Fabled Forest Business School books teach projections, pricing and capacity, so you can talk numbers with any Pennsylvania lender.
Start learning →How Dr. Paul Helps
How Dr. Paul Ties Pennsylvania Sales to Real Buyers
Corridor warehouses, Lehigh Valley plants and hospital systems all buy. A lender wants to see which of them buy from you.
- Payroll at the going rate. Pennsylvania still uses the federal minimum wage, but Lehigh Valley and Central PA employers compete far above it. The plan prices warehouse and plant labor at what you will really pay.
- Customers named, not guessed. Each sales line ties to a real buyer: a distribution center, a plant purchasing office or a hospital system’s vendor desk. A lender can check every one.
- The request matched to the loan fund. Pennsylvania’s Department of Community and Economic Development (DCED) puts its share of the State Small Business Credit Initiative (SSBCI), a federal program the state runs through lenders, to work through local loan funds. CREDC connects Central PA owners to the PA Catalyst Loan Fund, and the URA lends in Pittsburgh. Your plan asks inside the rules of the fund you pick.
- Sales booked on the buyer’s delivery window. Plants and hospital purchasing offices order on set delivery schedules and pay on their own terms. The forecast books each sale in the month the buyer takes delivery and pays, not the month you send the quote.
- Projections, learned for free. The Kutztown-led Pennsylvania SBDC network has centers from Erie to Philadelphia, and Dr. Paul’s financial projections guide walks through the numbers step by step.
Pennsylvania plans often say “we serve the logistics industry” and stop there. That line tells a lender nothing. Dr. Paul wants the name of the distribution center, the shift you deliver to and the person who signs the purchase order, because a buyer with a name is a forecast a lender can trust.
Real work in Pennsylvania: Pennsylvania owners have worked with Dr. Paul before. In 2022, he wrote a bank-ready plan for a vending machine business.
Funding and Licensing Snapshot
Pennsylvania Lenders, Programs and Filings
Most Pennsylvania money moves through local partners. Know which desk your plan lands on before you write it.
Eastern PA and Pittsburgh Districts
The Eastern Pennsylvania District Office serves the Philadelphia side of the state, and the Pittsburgh District Office covers Western PA. Name the right one in your financing section.
DCED and Ben Franklin
DCED runs the state-backed loan and investment programs, with the Ben Franklin Technology Development Authority handling the investment side. Loan money usually reaches you through a local fund.
Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and Erie
The Philadelphia Business Lending Network links owners to lenders that serve the city, the URA lends in Pittsburgh, and ECGRA helps fund Bridgeway Capital lending in Erie.
Pennsylvania SBDC
University-based centers across the state, led from Kutztown University. Their consultants review plans and projections at no cost.
Department of State
Form your LLC or corporation with the Department of State. Pennsylvania has also added a yearly report filing, and its due date depends on your entity type, so mark it on the compliance calendar.
City and County Permits
Philadelphia businesses need a Commercial Activity License from the city. Food businesses also need a health permit, such as one from the Allegheny County Health Department around Pittsburgh.
Watch
Recorded for Pittsburgh and Philadelphia Owners
Assumptions and pricing are where Pennsylvania lenders push back first. Dr. Paul covers both in a few minutes each.
Financial Assumptions in a Business PlanWhere your numbers come from and how to write them down, recorded for Pittsburgh owners.
What Is Your Pricing Strategy?How to explain your prices so a Philadelphia lender believes the sales line.
Learn It Yourself
Build the Skills Pennsylvania Buyers Test
Plants and warehouses judge suppliers on capacity, price and payment terms. These free lessons cover each one.
From Dr. Paul’s Fabled Forest
An Operations Book for Pennsylvania Suppliers Working to a Delivery Window
Dr. Paul’s Fabled Forest Business School · Book 3
Operations for Small Businesses
A supplier to a Lehigh Valley plant or a hospital purchasing office gets judged on capacity and delivery windows. Operations is where those promises get kept or broken. Fabled Forest stories show owners planning capacity, cutting lead time and clearing bottlenecks, and the book spells out each business lesson in plain terms.
Show me the loading dock. A forecast without a named door for the goods to pass through is a wish, not a plan.
Doctor Owl, Dr. Paul’s Fabled Forest Business SchoolFAQ
What Pennsylvania Owners Ask Before They Apply
Which Pennsylvania SBDC centers serve owners in Northeastern PA and Central PA, away from the Kutztown lead office?
Will Pennsylvania’s federal-floor minimum wage make warehouse payroll look unrealistically cheap?
Does the trucking template fit a Central PA carrier hauling into Lehigh Valley distribution centers?
Where does the Pennsylvania annual report filing go in a startup timeline?
Dr. Paul Borosky, DBA, MBA
Business Plan Writer, Consultant & Author | 14+ Years | 1,000+ Clients Served
Dr. Paul Borosky, DBA, MBA is the founder of Quality Business Plan. He writes business plans and financial projections for owners across the United States and Canada, works remotely with clients in every state, and has written plans behind more than $100M in funded projects. He is the author of the Dr. Paul’s Fabled Forest Business School series and has published over 1,000 business videos on YouTube. He has taught as an adjunct college instructor and teaches in Florida public schools.
This page is for general educational purposes only. It is not legal, lending, or financial advice. Program rules, loan sizes and local requirements change, so confirm them with the program or agency before you apply. The Fabled Forest and its characters are fictional.