Looking for a tourism website services business plan? You're in the right place.
A web agency that sells to tour operators, inns and attractions has to answer some hard questions before anyone funds it. How many hours does a site build take, and who does them? What happens to cash in the winter, when client budgets shrink? How do you promise search work without promising rankings? Generic templates rarely show the numbers behind those answers.
In this article we'll walk through a complete sample plan for a tourism web and search agency in Atlanta, Georgia, section by section. We'll cover the summary, the SWOT analysis and, in particular, all of the financials.
Here's what you'll take away:
- The summary: see how to put an agency, its raise and its three revenue lines on one page, so a reader knows the ask within a minute
- The seasonality section: learn how visitor-business budgets rise and fall, and how to plan hiring and cash around them
- The pricing and pipeline tables: check what a site build, a monthly retainer and a managed listing might sell for, and how many calls it takes to win 22 clients in the first year
- The delivery section: compare hours sold against hours your staff can supply, so you hire before the work piles up and not after
- The compliance notes: see how to handle review rules and public-sector accessibility duties without overpromising
- The five-year profit and loss, cash flow and balance sheet: understand how each hire and each pay rise shows up in the numbers
- The downside case: prepare for the "what if revenue is 20% short?" question, with the cuts the owner makes in response
If you're planning an agency for visitor businesses, read this before you write your own. The company is fictional, so take what fits your market and change the rest.
In this plan
To turn this example into your own tourism website services business plan, use the tourism website services business plan template.
At a Glance
Eastbrook Digital is an Atlanta agency that builds websites, connects booking widgets and runs local-search work for businesses that sell visits: tour operators, bed-and-breakfasts and small inns, attractions and county or city destination marketing groups. It opens on January 1, 2027 under founder Renee Okafor, who holds 65% of the company. Two outside investors from the hospitality trade hold the other 35%.
The company raises $400,000: $175,000 of Renee's savings, $175,000 from the two investors and a $50,000 bank credit line. Most of it, $342,800, is a cash reserve for the thin first two years. Equipment and the office fit-out take $27,000, and legal work, registrations and the launch campaign take $30,200.
| Year 1 | Year 2 | Year 3 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $420,600 | $909,696 | $1,397,206 |
| Net income after start-up costs | ($148,056) | $7,817 | $80,456 |
| Closing cash | $192,296 | $150,626 | $180,572 |
Revenue comes from three lines: fixed-price site builds, monthly management and search retainers, and monthly listing and review management. Builds supply 43% of Year 1 revenue and the two monthly lines 57%; by Year 5 the monthly lines supply 77%. Payroll is the largest cost in every year, because the work is done by people: developers, a designer, search and content strategists, listing specialists and account managers. Net income is small but positive from Year 2, grows to 5.8% of revenue in Year 3 and reaches 8.6% in Year 5, with every role full time and paid at the rates in the hiring table.
A second run of the model takes 20% off every revenue line. With later hiring, one planned hire dropped, a smaller marketing budget, a pay cut for Renee and no larger office, the company still earns a profit from Year 3 and keeps year-end cash above $90,000.
Who Eastbrook Is
Legal name: Eastbrook Digital, LLC, a Georgia limited liability company. Owners: Renee Okafor, 65%, for her $175,000 and the client relationships she brings; two outside investors, 35% together, for $175,000. Premises: a leased office of 1,500 square feet in Atlanta's Midtown area, on a three-year lease. Start date: January 1, 2027. Stage: pre-launch. Three retainer clients have signed engagement letters, and the office lease and the portfolio site are in draft.
The job
Give small and mid-sized visitor businesses a website that takes bookings through a reservation tool they already trust, plus a monthly service that keeps their search presence, directory listings and review replies in order.
Three offers
| Service | How it is priced | Share of Year 1 revenue |
|---|---|---|
| Site build or redesign | Fixed fee, about $12,800 on average | 43% |
| Management and search retainer | About $1,250 a month | 41% |
| Listing and review management | About $325 a month per location | 16% |
Where the company stops
Eastbrook connects reservation and ticketing widgets from outside vendors and does not build a booking engine of its own. Payment processing and guest booking records stay with that vendor under the client's account, and the engagement letter says so. The company sells deliverables: pages, listings, reports and hours of work. No contract promises a search position, a review score or a number of bookings, because Google and the review platforms set their own rules and change them without notice.
Goals for the first two years
- Reach 17 retainer clients and 27 managed locations by December 2027, up from 3 clients at launch.
- Ship 14 sites in Year 1 and 24 in Year 2.
- Cover operating costs and interest in Year 2, and earn a profit after tax in every year from Year 2.
- Hold seven full-time staff by the end of Year 2, then pay the credit line down on schedule.
Registrations
The company registers as a Georgia LLC and obtains the City of Atlanta business license; fees and forms change, so both are confirmed with the Secretary of State and the City before opening. Contracts with public destination bodies can bring procurement paperwork and web accessibility duties, covered under delivery.
Tourism Operators in the Southeast
Eastbrook sells to businesses whose revenue depends on visitors arriving, and whose own marketing is usually run by the owner in spare time. The target region is Georgia first, then the Carolinas, Tennessee and the Florida panhandle, all reachable by car from Atlanta for kickoff visits and photo days. Delivery is remote.
Who buys
| Client type | Typical need | Typical spend with Eastbrook |
|---|---|---|
| Tour operators and outfitters | A site that sells dated tours through a reservation tool | $14,500 build, $1,400 a month |
| Bed-and-breakfasts and small inns | A direct-booking site and a clean Google Business listing | $8,000 build, $750 a month |
| Attractions, farms and museums | Ticketing, events and group-sales pages | $14,500 to $25,000 build, $1,400 a month |
| County and city destination groups | A partner directory, an events calendar and many listings | $25,000 and up, $2,800 a month and multiple locations |
The prices are the plan's own. They are mid-market for a specialist agency and sit above template builders and below large hospitality agencies; the plan states no competitor prices because they change often and each vendor publishes its own.
What the alternatives look like
| Alternative | What it offers | Why a client picks it | Where Eastbrook differs by design |
|---|---|---|---|
| Template site builders | Do-it-yourself pages at a low monthly fee | Cheapest start | Eastbrook configures the booking widget, writes the tour and room pages and maintains them |
| Freelance web designers | Custom design at a project price | Personal attention, lower cost | A team with a developer, a search strategist and a listings specialist, so work continues when one person is away |
| Large hospitality marketing agencies | Brand, media and web for big properties | Scale, awards | Small-account focus, with fixed monthly fees that a single inn can afford |
| General web shops | Sites for any trade | Familiar vendor | Tourism pages, seasonal calendars and visitor-search habits built in |
| Reservation vendors' own web services | A site bundled with the booking tool | One invoice | Eastbrook works with several tools and can move a client between them |
Each row describes an offer and where Eastbrook sits against it. It is not a ranking.
Seasonality in client budgets
Tour operators and inns book most of their income in a few peak months, so their marketing budgets follow cash. They sign site builds in the off-season, from late summer to early winter, so the pages are live before the next peak. Retainers tend to start in spring. Some small inns pause or downgrade over the winter. Some Georgia public bodies budget on a July 1 fiscal year, which would make early summer the time for destination group proposals; each client's calendar is confirmed at the proposal stage. In the 2027 model, builds cluster from September to December, and the retainer count dips in November, when two seasonal inns pause, before recovering in December.
SWOT
| Strengths | Weaknesses |
|---|---|
| Founder with a decade of hospitality accounts | Labor-heavy: every dollar of growth needs more hours |
| Fixed monthly fees that small operators can budget | Year 1 and Year 2 lose money before the monthly base builds |
| Three retainer clients signed before opening | Dependence on search and review platforms that change their rules |
| Opportunities | Threats |
|---|---|
| Operators moving bookings from third-party sites to their own | Template builders and AI tools lowering the price of a basic site |
| Destination groups with dozens of partner listings to keep current | Late payments from seasonal and public clients |
| Referrals from reservation-tool resellers and consultants | A senior developer leaving mid-project |
Who Buys and When
The owner who does it all
A typical buyer runs a tour fleet of a few vehicles, a handful of guest rooms or a single attraction, and has no marketing staff. The website is a few years old and was built by a relative or a template. Bookings arrive by phone, email and third-party travel sites that take a commission. The owner knows direct bookings would be worth more and does not have the time to fix the site.
The destination group
A county or city visitors bureau works to a board and a fiscal year. It wants a site that lists local businesses, an events calendar and consistent listings across search and map services. Purchases pass through quotes or a request for proposals, and payment can run 45 days or more.
What sets off a purchase
A site that does not work on a phone, a booking tool the operator has outgrown, a bad review the owner cannot reply to, or a competitor whose listing looks better in a map search.
What buyers ask
Is the booking tool going to work on the first day of the season? Who updates prices and dates? What does the monthly fee cover? Can the buyer leave, and keep the site? The engagement letter answers the last question: the client owns the content and the domain, and the code stays licensed to the client for as long as the retainer runs.
Staying and leaving
Small operators have thin budgets. The plan expects 20% of retainer clients to leave each year, higher than a business-to-business subscription would see, because some close or sell. Year-end retainer counts of 17, 38, 50, 66 and 78 are net of that churn. Listing locations at year end run 27, 53, 87, 113 and 147, since destination groups bring many locations at once.
How Contracts Get Signed
From first call to signature
A prospect gets a 40-minute discovery call, a written scope and a fixed-fee proposal within three working days, and a short review call. Renee runs every discovery call in Year 1. Site builds are billed in milestones of 40% at signing, 40% at design approval and 20% at launch. Retainers bill monthly by card or bank debit. Listing work bills monthly, with a three-month minimum.
The Year 1 pipeline
About 73 discovery calls at a 30% close rate produce 22 new clients: 14 build clients and 8 operators who hand over an existing site for management. Nine of the 14 build clients also sign a retainer.
| Lead source | New clients | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Outbound email and calls to operators from association directories | 7 | 32% |
| Referral partners (consultants, reservation resellers, accountants, chambers) | 6 | 27% |
| Search and content on Eastbrook's own site | 4 | 18% |
| Association events and regional conferences | 3 | 14% |
| Paid search and reservation-vendor partner directories | 2 | 9% |
How prices are set
Builds are quoted by page count, number of booking products and integrations. A small inn site of about eight pages sells for $7,500 to $9,000. A multi-product operator with several tours and a widget integration sells for $12,000 to $16,000. An attraction or destination group site runs from $25,000 up. Retainers are $750, $1,400 or $2,800 a month, chosen by 45%, 45% and 10% of clients. Listing management is $200, $380 or $560 a month per location, chosen by 45%, 40% and 15%, which averages about $325. The top tier adds event posting, photo updates and weekly review replies for attractions and destination groups. Fees rise 3% a year from Year 2.
| Year 1 | Year 2 | Year 3 | Year 4 | Year 5 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Retainer clients at year end | 17 | 38 | 50 | 66 | 78 |
| Managed locations at year end | 27 | 53 | 87 | 113 | 147 |
| Sites built in the year | 14 | 24 | 30 | 35 | 38 |
Client flow after Year 1
The company needs more new clients each year, not fewer, to grow retainers net of 20% churn. The plan expects 37 new clients in Year 2 and 33 in Year 3. In Year 2, 6 of the 24 builds are redesigns for existing clients, so 18 are new build clients, and 19 operators hand over an existing site for management. In Year 3, 10 of the 30 builds are repeat work. Discovery calls rise to about 123 and 110, a load that the account manager from month 15 shares with Renee, and the marketing spend per new client falls to about $1,800 in Year 2 and $2,200 in Year 3 as referrals build.
| Year 1 | Year 2 | Year 3 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| New clients | 22 | 37 | 33 |
| Discovery calls at a 30% close rate | 73 | 123 | 110 |
| Marketing spend per new client | $2,727 | $1,784 | $2,182 |
Reaching Operators
What the Year 1 budget buys
Marketing is $60,000 in Year 1, which is 14% of revenue. The launch campaign accounts for $18,000, charged to start-up capital, and the remaining $42,000 is running spend in the operating budget. Running spend then rises to $66,000 in Year 2 to support the larger client flow, which is 7% of Year 2 revenue, and the share falls to 5% in Year 3 and 4% in Year 5 as referrals and repeat clients do more of the work. Across the 22 new clients, each costs about $2,700 to win. A retainer client at the $1,250 average pays that back in just over two months of fees.
| Channel | Year 1 spend | What it is expected to do |
|---|---|---|
| Portfolio and three sample sites (launch) | $11,000 | A tour operator, an inn and an attraction demonstrating the booking widget |
| Outreach kit and list building (launch) | $4,000 | Contact lists drawn from association member directories |
| Launch event (launch) | $3,000 | Introductions to the first referral partners |
| Outbound tools and list data | $9,000 | Email and call sequences to about 1,200 operators; about 7 clients |
| Referral partner program | $6,000 | Consultants and resellers receive a fee on signed work; about 6 clients |
| Content and local search for Eastbrook's own site | $8,000 | A guide a month on direct booking and listings; about 4 clients |
| Association memberships and conferences | $10,000 | Regional tourism association events; about 3 clients |
| Paid search and vendor directory listings | $5,000 | Searches such as "tour operator website" and "inn website design", plus partner directories; about 2 clients |
| Case studies and video | $4,000 | Proof from the first completed builds |
Landmarks for 2027
- April: first site ships, with 8 retainer clients.
- June: 12 retainer clients and 18 managed locations.
- September to December: two or three sites a month ship ahead of the winter planning season.
- December: 17 retainer clients, 27 locations and $30,025 of monthly recurring revenue.
Claims the marketing may not make
Search, map and review platforms set their own ranking rules. Eastbrook's proposals describe the work done and the reports delivered. They do not guarantee a position, a traffic figure or a booking count, and case studies state the dates and the starting point of each result.
Delivering the Work
The Midtown office
The lease runs three years with a personal guarantee from Renee. Rent is $33 per square foot a year on 1,500 square feet, or $49,500 in Year 1. The space holds ten desks, a device-testing bench and a small meeting room, enough for the nine staff of Year 3. When the lease ends, the team moves in Year 4 to 2,000 square feet on a new lease, so no early exit cost arises.
How a site gets built
Each build runs through discovery, wireframes, design, development, content entry, widget configuration, a device-test pass and launch, in about 105 hours of staff time on average: roughly 70 for a small inn site, 110 for a multi-product operator and 220 for an attraction or destination site. Content is written with the client's own photos and facts, and every price and date is confirmed by the client in writing before launch. A monthly retainer takes about 11.5 hours of work: page updates, seasonal changes, search and analytics reporting, and a review call. Listing management takes about 2.4 hours per location a month, covering business profiles, directory consistency, review replies and event posts.
Hours supplied against hours sold
| Year 1 | Year 5 | |
|---|---|---|
| Hours the work needs | 3,566 | 17,670 |
| Hours from staff | 3,225 | 15,592 |
| Hours from freelancers | 341 | 2,078 |
| Revenue per hour sold | $118 | $132 |
A full-time developer, designer, strategist or specialist supplies about 1,500 billable hours a year, an account manager about 700, the project coordinator 350 and Renee 600 in Year 1, shrinking to 400 by Year 5 as the team grows. Freelance writers, designers and developers fill the gap at about $65 an hour in Year 1, rising 3% a year.
Direct costs pay for that freelance time, for pass-through fees and for an allowance. Pass-through fees are about $35 per managed location a month for listing platforms and review tools, $30 per retainer client a month for hosting and widget licenses, and $400 per site for stock images and plug-ins, all rising 3% a year. The allowance covers rework, overflow in peak weeks and the first months of each new hire, when output is below full pace.
| Direct costs | Year 1 | Year 5 |
|---|---|---|
| Freelance hours at the year's rate | $22,152 | $152,047 |
| Pass-through fees | $17,160 | $107,734 |
| Rework, overflow and ramp-up allowance | $15,742 | $45,680 |
| Total direct costs | $55,054 | $305,461 |
Direct costs are 13.1% of revenue in both years. Salaried delivery staff are in payroll, not here.
Tools and client data
Eastbrook uses a search research suite, a rank and review monitoring tool, a project tracker, design software and a device-testing service, at $30,000 in Year 1, rising to $72,000 in Year 5. Client logins sit in a shared password manager. Booking records and payments stay in the reservation vendor's system and are not copied to Eastbrook's. Eastbrook runs cyber and professional liability insurance because it holds administrator access to client sites.
Licenses, rules and insurance
- Georgia LLC registration and the City of Atlanta business license; confirm requirements and fees with each.
- Insurance covers professional liability, cyber, general liability, workers' compensation and key-person life and disability cover on Renee. The line is $14,000 in Year 1 and rises with headcount.
- The Federal Trade Commission's rule on consumer reviews and testimonials, published in August 2024, restricts fake reviews and the purchase of reviews conditioned on sentiment. Eastbrook's review work asks real customers for feedback and replies publicly; it never writes or buys reviews. The rule's current text should be confirmed with counsel.
- Government clients may fall under the Justice Department's web accessibility rule for state and local governments. Eastbrook builds to WCAG 2.1 AA for public-body clients and confirms each client's compliance date with the client.
- Every engagement letter names the scope, the monthly fee, the term, client ownership of content and domain, and the no-guarantee language.
Vendors and advisers
A law firm reviews the client contract template and the investor agreement. A bookkeeper keeps the books on a contract basis. Freelancers come from a vetted bench of about a dozen, so no one freelancer is critical.
Team and Backing
Renee Okafor, founder and managing director
Renee spent eleven years at an Atlanta agency that specialized in hospitality, rising from developer to account director. She ran about 25 accounts among hotels, tour companies and visitor bureaus. She holds a computer science degree. Her $175,000 is the savings of those years, and her 65% stake reflects that cash plus the client relationships and delivery work she brings. She leaves to run a smaller company in which she does hands-on delivery for the first year.
Where the team is thin
Renee has never owned a company's cash position or signed a lease. She has not led public-sector sales alone. The plan answers each gap: the investors review monthly accounts for the first year, a contract bookkeeper handles billing and payables, and the first destination group proposals are bid with a partner agency's reference.
If Renee is out
The web developer hired in month 3 can run builds under Renee's design, and the account manager from month 15 holds client relationships. Until then, a freelance project lead on call for up to 20 hours a month covers a long absence. Key-person life and disability cover for Renee costs extra and is bought separately.
The investors and the bank
Two hospitality operators, one running tours and one running an inn, invest $175,000 for 35% of the company. They hold no day-to-day role and have a monthly reporting right and a seat on a three-person advisory board. The $50,000 credit line carries Renee's personal guarantee and a lien on the $27,000 of equipment, which is thin collateral. A lender would rely mainly on the guarantee and on the monthly recurring revenue, and no client is allowed to exceed 10% of revenue. Neither the investors nor the bank are promised an outcome.
The Numbers and the Raise
One five-year model produces every table in this section. 2027 is shown month by month and the later years annually. The inputs come first, each with its reason, followed by the forecasts and then a second run with revenue 20% lower.
What the $400,000 pays for
| Use of funds | Amount |
|---|---|
| Laptops, monitors, device-testing lab, network | $16,000 |
| Office furniture and build-out | $11,000 |
| Georgia and city registrations | $1,200 |
| Legal: entity, investor agreement, client contract, data terms | $11,000 |
| Launch: portfolio, sample sites, outreach to operators | $18,000 |
| Cash reserve for the off-season and the first two years | $342,800 |
| Total uses | $400,000 |
| Source of funds | Amount |
|---|---|
| Renee Okafor's savings | $175,000 |
| Two outside investors (hospitality operators) | $175,000 |
| Bank credit line, drawn at opening | $50,000 |
| Total sources | $400,000 |
Equity supplies $350,000 of the $400,000, or 87.5%: $175,000 from Renee and $175,000 from two investors for a 35% stake. The remaining $50,000 is a bank credit line drawn in full at opening. It carries 10.5% interest, a figure for the example and not a quoted rate, is interest only for twelve months and then amortizes over four years, so in practice it behaves like a term loan. Renee guarantees it personally. Drawing it in full costs $5,250 of interest in Year 1 and buys a banking relationship that a later, larger facility can build on. The $342,800 reserve dwarfs the $27,000 equipment budget on purpose. Year 1 uses $180,704 of operating cash, month-end cash bottoms out near $133,000 in September of Year 1, and the lowest year-end balance, $150,626, comes at the end of Year 2. The 20% shortfall run later in this section leaves $94,739 at its lowest year-end, so the raise is about the smallest that keeps both runs positive with a cushion of roughly two months of Year 2 costs. The sum is modest for a company that reaches $2.3 million of revenue, because milestone and monthly fees fund the work and there is no inventory or large equipment to buy.
Rates, hours and counts behind the forecast
- Site builds average $12,800 in Year 1 at about 105 staff hours each, or $122 of revenue per hour. The mix is roughly seven small-inn sites, five multi-product operator sites and two attraction or destination sites. Fourteen ship in Year 1: the first in April, since no build client signs before opening and a site takes eight to twelve weeks, then one a month through the summer and two or three a month from September to December. Years 2 to 5 ship 24, 30, 35 and 38. Billing is 40% at signing, 40% at design approval and 20% at launch, and revenue is booked at launch, so the deposits that would soften the spring trough are not in the monthly view.
- Retainers average $1,250 a month, the blend of $750, $1,400 and $2,800 plans taken by 45%, 45% and 10% of clients. The company opens with 3 clients and ends Year 1 with 17, net of churn and after a November dip when two seasonal inns pause. Year-end counts of 38, 50, 66 and 78 follow. Revenue in Years 2 to 5 uses the average count in each year: 28, 44, 58 and 72. About 11.5 staff hours a month go to each retainer, or $109 an hour.
- Listing and review management averages $325 a month per location, from $200, $380 and $560 plans taken by 45%, 40% and 15% of locations. Year 1 ends with 27 locations. Average counts of 40, 70, 100 and 130 drive Years 2 to 5. Each location takes about 2.4 hours a month, or $135 an hour. Destination groups bring many locations at once, which is why locations outnumber retainer clients.
- Fees rise 3% a year from Year 2 on all three lines. Each later-year revenue line is a unit count times the higher price, so every total can be multiplied back out. Churn is 20% a year on retainers, because small inns and operators close, sell or cut budgets, and listing locations follow the same pattern.
- Staff hours needed come to 3,566 in Year 1 and 17,670 in Year 5. A production employee supplies 1,500 billable hours a year, an account manager 700, the coordinator 350 and Renee 600 in Year 1, falling to 400 by Year 5. That gives 3,225 hours from staff in Year 1 and 15,592 in Year 5. Freelancers cover the gap, 341 hours then and 2,078 at the end, at $65 an hour in Year 1 and 3% more each year.
- Direct costs are 11% of build revenue, 12.5% of retainer revenue and 20% of listing revenue, which blends to 13.1% of revenue in every year. They pay for freelance hours, for pass-through fees of $35 per location a month, $30 per retainer client a month and $400 per site, and for a rework and ramp-up allowance. In Years 2 and 3 the freelance and pass-through costs alone come to about the full line, so those years carry no cushion. Salaried delivery staff are in payroll.
- Receivables average 35 days because destination groups pay slowly and builds bill in milestones. Payables average 14 days for freelancers and software. The bad debt allowance is about 1% of revenue in every year.
- Each salary carries a 27% load for employer payroll taxes, health coverage, paid leave and workers' compensation. The salaries in the hiring table are launch-year rates, with senior developers at $112,000. Raises of 3% a year begin in Year 2 and are charged on their own line, reaching $158,679 in Year 5.
- Rent is $33 per square foot a year on 1,500 square feet in Year 1 and rises to $34 and then $35 in the next two years. Year 4 starts a new lease on 2,000 square feet at $33, and Year 5 is $34. Insurance, software and recruiting fees follow headcount.
- The model taxes the company as a C corporation, at 21% federal and a 5.19% Georgia planning rate, and the state rate may change. The Year 1 loss carries forward and shelters Years 2 and 3, so the first tax bill falls in Year 4. Federal rules limit how much of a year's income a carried-forward loss can offset, which the model ignores, so Year 3 would carry a small bill in practice. A small agency might elect S corporation status instead, which moves the tax to the owners.
- No distributions are paid in the five years. The credit line is repaid on schedule and is clear by the end of Year 5. The investors' return would come from a later sale or dividend and is not modeled.
Revenue by service line
| Revenue stream | Year 1 | Year 2 | Year 3 | Year 4 | Year 5 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Site builds and redesigns | $179,200 | $316,416 | $407,386 | $489,542 | $547,447 |
| Management and search retainers | $172,500 | $432,600 | $700,194 | $950,672 | $1,215,550 |
| Listing and review management | $68,900 | $160,680 | $289,626 | $426,164 | $570,633 |
| Total revenue | $420,600 | $909,696 | $1,397,206 | $1,866,378 | $2,333,630 |
| Growth on prior year | – | 116% | 54% | 34% | 25% |
Site builds are the largest line in Year 1, at 43% of revenue, and the smallest of the three by Year 5 at 23%. Retainers grow from 41% to 52% of revenue. Listing management grows from 16% to 24%. The two monthly lines together are 57% of revenue in Year 1 and 77% in Year 5, so the business moves from selling projects to selling hours every month.
Month by month in 2027
| Month | Site builds and redesigns | Management and search retainers | Listing and review management | Total revenue | EBITDA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 2027 | $0 | $3,750 | $1,300 | $5,050 | ($34,993) |
| Feb 2027 | $0 | $5,000 | $1,950 | $6,950 | ($33,341) |
| Mar 2027 | $0 | $7,500 | $2,925 | $10,425 | ($30,321) |
| Apr 2027 | $12,800 | $10,000 | $3,900 | $26,700 | ($16,177) |
| May 2027 | $12,800 | $12,500 | $4,875 | $30,175 | ($13,156) |
| Jun 2027 | $12,800 | $15,000 | $5,850 | $33,650 | ($10,136) |
| Jul 2027 | $12,800 | $17,500 | $6,825 | $37,125 | ($7,116) |
| Aug 2027 | $12,800 | $18,750 | $7,475 | $39,025 | ($5,465) |
| Sep 2027 | $25,600 | $20,000 | $8,125 | $53,725 | $7,311 |
| Oct 2027 | $38,400 | $21,250 | $8,450 | $68,100 | $19,804 |
| Nov 2027 | $25,600 | $20,000 | $8,450 | $54,050 | $7,593 |
| Dec 2027 | $25,600 | $21,250 | $8,775 | $55,625 | $8,962 |
No site ships until April, so January to March bring in only $5,050, $6,950 and $10,425 of retainer and listing fees. Revenue climbs to $68,100 in October, when three builds ship, and settles at $54,050 and $55,625 in November and December. EBITDA is positive only in the four months from September to December and negative in the other eight. The retainer count dips in November as two seasonal inns pause. Month-end cash is lowest in Sep, at about $133,000, after receivables still owed are counted.
Hiring plan
| Role | Annual wage | Starts | Year 1 end | Year 2 end | Year 3 end | Year 4 end | Year 5 end |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Founder and managing director | $115,000 | Month 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Web developer | $82,000 | Month 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Search and content strategist | $70,000 | Month 5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Listings and reviews specialist | $56,000 | Month 10 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Account manager | $64,000 | Month 15 | – | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Designer | $72,000 | Month 20 | – | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Project coordinator | $54,000 | Month 22 | – | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Senior developer | $112,000 | Month 26 | – | – | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Paid search and analytics specialist | $70,000 | Month 32 | – | – | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Second listings and reviews specialist | $56,000 | Month 38 | – | – | – | 1 | 1 |
| Second search and content strategist | $72,000 | Month 41 | – | – | – | 1 | 1 |
| Second senior developer | $112,000 | Month 44 | – | – | – | 1 | 1 |
| Second account manager | $66,000 | Month 50 | – | – | – | – | 1 |
| Total payroll incl. on-costs | $309,880 | $533,188 | $818,938 | $1,068,070 | $1,264,285 |
Renee starts alone in January and uses freelancers until the web developer joins in month 3. A search and content strategist follows in month 5 and a listings and reviews specialist in month 10. The account manager starts in month 15, the designer in month 20 and a project coordinator in month 22. A senior developer joins in month 26, a paid search and analytics specialist in month 32, a second listings specialist in month 38, a second strategist in month 41 and a second senior developer in month 44. The second account manager comes in month 50. Each start follows several months in which booked hours ran close to what staff could supply. Headcount is 4 at the end of Year 1, then 7, 9, 12 and 13. Renee's $115,000 begins in month 1 and sits inside payroll, so the profit lines are what is left after she has been paid. Every role is full time, and no wage is trimmed to reach the margin.
Profit and loss
| Year 1 | Year 2 | Year 3 | Year 4 | Year 5 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $420,600 | $909,696 | $1,397,206 | $1,866,378 | $2,333,630 |
| Direct costs (freelance writers, designers and developers, hosting, booking-widget licenses, listing-platform fees) | ($55,054) | ($119,075) | ($182,887) | ($244,300) | ($305,461) |
| Gross profit | $365,546 | $790,621 | $1,214,319 | $1,622,078 | $2,028,169 |
| Payroll incl. on-costs | ($309,880) | ($533,188) | ($818,938) | ($1,068,070) | ($1,264,285) |
| Rent | ($49,500) | ($51,000) | ($52,500) | ($66,000) | ($68,000) |
| Utilities | ($4,200) | ($4,300) | ($4,400) | ($5,400) | ($5,600) |
| Marketing | ($42,000) | ($66,000) | ($72,000) | ($78,000) | ($84,000) |
| Insurance | ($14,000) | ($17,000) | ($21,000) | ($25,000) | ($29,000) |
| Professional fees | ($10,000) | ($10,000) | ($11,000) | ($12,000) | ($13,000) |
| Software subscriptions | ($30,000) | ($40,000) | ($52,000) | ($62,000) | ($72,000) |
| Training, certifications and conference travel | ($4,000) | ($6,000) | ($8,000) | ($10,000) | ($12,000) |
| Phones, supplies and client site visits | ($5,000) | ($7,000) | ($9,000) | ($11,000) | ($13,000) |
| Laptop replacement and new-hire kit | $0 | ($7,000) | ($6,000) | ($9,000) | ($8,000) |
| Recruiting fees for developer hires | $0 | ($6,000) | ($6,000) | ($8,000) | ($6,000) |
| Bad debt allowance | ($4,000) | ($9,000) | ($14,000) | ($19,000) | ($23,000) |
| Annual pay raises (3% a year) | $0 | ($15,996) | ($49,873) | ($99,039) | ($158,679) |
| EBITDA | ($107,034) | $18,137 | $89,607 | $149,569 | $271,605 |
| Depreciation | ($5,571) | ($5,571) | ($5,571) | ($5,571) | ($1,571) |
| Interest | ($5,250) | ($4,749) | ($3,579) | ($2,281) | ($839) |
| Income tax | $0 | $0 | $0 | ($28,146) | ($67,568) |
| Net income before start-up costs | ($117,856) | $7,817 | $80,456 | $113,571 | $201,626 |
| Start-up costs expensed at opening (legal, registrations, launch marketing) | ($30,200) | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Net income after start-up costs | ($148,056) | $7,817 | $80,456 | $113,571 | $201,626 |
Year 1 loses $117,856 before start-up costs and $148,056 after them. Year 2 earns $7,817 although revenue more than doubles, because the account manager, the designer and the coordinator all join during it and the margin stays thin. Year 3 earns $80,456, a 5.8% net margin, and the Year 1 loss keeps the tax bill at zero. Year 4 earns $113,571 after $28,146 of tax, a 6.1% margin, while three hires and a larger office arrive. Year 5 earns $201,626 after $67,568 of tax, an 8.6% net margin and an 11.6% EBITDA margin. Payroll including raises takes 74% of revenue in Year 1 and 61% in Year 5. Margin depends on revenue per employee rising, and it does so only because retainer and listing revenue grow faster than headcount.
Cash and the credit line
| Year 1 | Year 2 | Year 3 | Year 4 | Year 5 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cash from operations | ($180,704) | ($31,056) | $41,728 | $76,509 | $160,739 |
| Computers, test devices and build-out | ($27,000) | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Funding received | $400,000 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Credit line principal repaid | $0 | ($10,613) | ($11,783) | ($13,081) | ($14,523) |
| Owner distributions | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Net change in cash | $192,296 | ($41,669) | $29,945 | $63,428 | $146,216 |
| Closing cash | $192,296 | $150,626 | $180,572 | $244,000 | $390,215 |
Cash ends every year above zero. It is $192,296 at the end of Year 1, falls to $150,626 at the end of Year 2, the lowest year-end figure, and rebuilds to $390,215 by Year 5. The credit line is repaid in full by the end of Year 5. No owner distribution is paid, so the cash that accumulates in Years 4 and 5 would be the first source for dividends or for a larger cushion against a slow year.
Balance sheet
| At year end | Year 1 | Year 2 | Year 3 | Year 4 | Year 5 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cash | $192,296 | $150,626 | $180,572 | $244,000 | $390,215 |
| Accounts receivable | $40,332 | $87,231 | $133,979 | $178,968 | $223,773 |
| Computers, test devices and build-out (net) | $21,429 | $15,857 | $10,286 | $4,714 | $3,143 |
| Total assets | $254,056 | $253,715 | $324,836 | $427,682 | $617,131 |
| Accounts payable (freelancers, software and platforms) | $2,112 | $4,567 | $7,015 | $9,370 | $11,716 |
| Bank credit line | $50,000 | $39,387 | $27,604 | $14,523 | $0 |
| Paid-in capital | $350,000 | $350,000 | $350,000 | $350,000 | $350,000 |
| Retained earnings | ($148,056) | ($140,239) | ($59,783) | $53,788 | $255,415 |
| Total liabilities and equity | $254,056 | $253,715 | $324,836 | $427,682 | $617,131 |
Margins, break-even and revenue per head
| Measure | Year 1 | Year 2 | Year 3 | Year 4 | Year 5 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| EBITDA margin | -25.4% | 2.0% | 6.4% | 8.0% | 11.6% |
| Net margin (before start-up costs) | -28.0% | 0.9% | 5.8% | 6.1% | 8.6% |
| Payroll incl. pay raises as share of revenue | 74% | 60% | 62% | 63% | 61% |
| Revenue per full-time equivalent at year end | $105,150 | $129,957 | $155,245 | $155,532 | $179,510 |
| Average monthly revenue | $35,050 | $75,808 | $116,434 | $155,532 | $194,469 |
| Monthly revenue needed to cover operating costs | $45,313 | $74,069 | $107,842 | $141,190 | $168,427 |
| Debt service cover (EBITDA / interest + principal) | -20.4x | 1.2x | 5.8x | 9.7x | 17.7x |
The last rows set average monthly revenue against the revenue needed to cover all operating costs. Year 1 averages $35,050 a month against $45,313 needed. Year 2 averages $75,808 against $74,069, a slim pass, and Year 3 reaches $116,434 against $107,842. Debt service cover is negative in Year 1 and 1.2x in Year 2, which is why the reserve exists, then 5.8x, 9.7x and 17.7x. Revenue per full-time employee at year end rises from $105,150 in Year 1 to $179,510 in Year 5. Freelancers, whose cost sits in direct costs, supply the hours behind part of that gap.
Revenue 20% short, with management cuts
| Year 1 | Year 2 | Year 3 | Year 4 | Year 5 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $336,480 | $727,757 | $1,117,765 | $1,493,102 | $1,866,904 |
| Net income before start-up costs | ($153,355) | ($8,260) | $24,003 | $38,419 | $124,366 |
| Net income after start-up costs | ($183,555) | ($8,260) | $24,003 | $38,419 | $124,366 |
| Closing cash | $164,441 | $115,584 | $97,936 | $94,739 | $172,186 |
Every revenue line is 20% lower in every year. Renee responds in six ways: every hire from month 13 on starts six months late, the second senior developer is never hired, marketing falls 20%, her salary falls 20%, the company stays in its first office and no distributions are paid. The month 10 listings specialist is kept, since the work needs the role. Net income is worse than the base case in every year. Year 2 loses $8,260 against a base-case profit of $7,817, and the company earns a profit from Year 3, $24,003 against $80,456. Year 5 earns $124,366 against $201,626. Year-end cash never drops below $94,739, in Year 4, and equity at the end of Year 1 is $166,445. Without the late hires and the dropped role, a shortfall of this size would use up most of the reserve by Year 3, which is why hiring is the first lever.
Sources
- Federal Trade Commission, 16 CFR Part 465, Rule on the Use of Consumer Reviews and Testimonials, published in the Federal Register on August 22, 2024 (89 FR 68077). It restricts fake reviews and testimonials and the purchase of reviews conditioned on sentiment.
- U.S. Department of Justice, State and Local Governments: First Steps Toward Complying with the ADA Title II Web and Mobile Application Accessibility Rule, which points public entities to WCAG 2.1 and to compliance dates that depend on the entity.
- Georgia corporate income tax: the model uses a 5.19% planning rate. The Georgia Department of Revenue publishes the current schedule, and the rate may change; confirm it before relying on any tax figure.
- Salaries, prices, hours and client counts are the plan's own figures, and no wage or market-size statistic is quoted.
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