Modern business environment is characterised by very fast and frequent changes, unpredictable business events and growing competition. Due to these very factors, the entrepreneurs and business entities are facing the inevitability of business planning to find an efficient and effective way of utilisation of the resources available, i.e. planning the necessary resources in the future. For all the reasons mentioned above, a business plan becomes an extremely important tool in the context of the modern business decision-making process regardless the fact whether a new business venture is being started or plans for extending the existing business are being made. Although some entrepreneurs and business entities choose to start a business venture directly, it is recommended to make a business plan first. A well thought out and designed business plan is a prerequisite for sustainable business, because its purpose is to assist in articulating the strategy for starting a business. Furthermore, a business plan provides insight into the steps to be taken, the resources required for the business goals to be achieved and the timeline of the results expected. In the Croatian business environment, the self-employment business plan is particularly interesting. Namely, an unemployed person that is also registered with the Croatian Employment Service is entitled to a benefit for self-employment upon submitting an application to the Croatian Employment Service with attached required documentation that includes a business plan as a crucial element. This is a special form of a business plan required to obtain self-employment benefit, which includes a cost estimate, and its main purpose is to ensure benefits for the unemployed to cover the registration and business operation costs of the business entity, as well as to indicate the sustainability of the business idea at the market.