SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Wells Fargo (NYSE:WFC) helped 10,000 small businesses develop a formal business plan in the first year of offering The Business Plan Center, a free online resource that provides a tool to help owners create and update their business plans. The Business Plan Center was introduced in 2015 as part of the company’s Wells Fargo Works for Small Business ^® platform, a broad initiative designed to deliver guidance and resources to help business owners achieve financial success. Since the launch, the Business Plan Center has received nearly 1 million visits.

According to a national survey of business owners conducted in 2015, only one in three said they had a formal, written business plan. Yet those who did have a plan were more confident and optimistic about their future. The survey also revealed that business owners with plans intended to increase hiring, capital spending and anticipated higher revenue within the next 12 months.

In an effort to provide all small business owners with a convenient way to create or revise business plans, Wells Fargo launched the Business Plan Center, which features two free tools: the Business Plan Tool, a step-by-step guide to develop a written business plan, and the Competitive Intelligence Tool, which provides business owners with key insight on competitors and the market for their businesses that can be used as part of the planning process.

“We know from research and working directly with business owners that business plans are the foundation for future success,” said Lisa Stevens, Wells Fargo’s head of Small Business. “Last year, we set out to encourage every business to develop a business plan. It’s rewarding to see how many business owners have outlined their paths to achieving their goals and we want to continue helping even more small businesses to put a plan in writing – every business, big or small, needs a plan.”

Among the 10,000 business owners who signed up to create a business plan using Wells Fargo’s Business Plan Tool is business owner Joseph Lee. He owns an independent retail pharmacy in Houston called Health Rx Scripts LLC.

“I had always put off developing a business plan until I learned it was a requirement in my industry when working with drug wholesalers,” said Lee. “With Wells Fargo’s Business Plan Tool, I received step-by-step support to create a business plan and the process was simple. Now I have a solid plan that presents my business objectives and financial projections in a professional manner when working with healthcare partners, and I know it will come in handy when seeking future financing for my business.”

Wells Fargo’s Business Plan Tool enables business owners to develop and update written plans that include: a high-level summary of the business; an overview of business history, structure and management, and current and planned products and services; a detailed marketing plan; and market and competitive analyses. It also allows business owners to enter financial data – such as starting balances, fixed assets and liabilities, sales forecasts and expenses. The tool will generate financial statements, such as a detailed cash flow statement, profit-and-loss statement and balance sheet.

Wells Fargo also launched its Small Business Appreciation Celebration, running from April 1 through June 30, 2016. During this time, Wells Fargo will celebrate the accomplishments of small businesses and provide business owners with special business offers on several products and services, including Wells Fargo’s Business Platinum Credit Card, Merchant Services, Business Payroll Services, Wells Fargo BusinessLoan® term loan, Equipment Express® loan, Business Lines of Credit, Business Real Estate Financing and Practice Finance.

About Wells Fargo

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE: WFC) is a diversified, community-based financial services company with $1.8 trillion in assets. Founded in 1852 and headquartered in San Francisco, Wells Fargo provides banking, insurance, investments, mortgage, and consumer and commercial finance through 8,700 locations, 13,000 ATMs, the internet (wellsfargo.com) and mobile banking, and has offices in 36 countries to support customers who conduct business in the global economy. With approximately 265,000 team members, Wells Fargo serves one in three households in the United States. Wells Fargo & Company was ranked No. 30 on Fortune’s 2015 rankings of America’s largest corporations. Wells Fargo’s vision is to satisfy our customers’ financial needs and help them succeed financially. Wells Fargo perspectives are also available at Wells Fargo Blogs and Wells Fargo Stories.

Wells Fargo serves approximately 3 million small business owners across the United States and loans more money to America’s small businesses than any other bank (2002-2014 CRA government data). To help more small businesses achieve financial success, in 2014 Wells Fargo introduced Wells Fargo Works for Small Business ^® – a broad initiative to deliver resources, guidance and services for business owners – and a goal to extend $100 billion in new lending to small businesses by 2018. For more information about Wells Fargo Works for Small Business, visit: WellsFargoWorks.com. Follow us on Twitter @WellsFargoWorks.