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A business plan is a formal written document containing the goals of a business, the methods for attaining those goals, and the time-frame for the achievement of the goals. It also describes the nature of the business, background information on the organization, the organization's financial projections, and the strategies it intends to implement to achieve the stated targets. In its entirety, this document serves as a road-map (a plan) that provides direction to the business.
Written business plans are often required to obtain a bank loan or other kind of financing. Templates U.S. Small Business Administration, "Business Plan Template", accessed 28 December 2020 and guides, such as the ones offered in the United States by the Small Business AdministrationU.S. Small Business Administration "Business Plan" (n.d.) [2] Retrieved 2020 December 28. can be used to facilitate producing a business plan.
Internally-focused business plans target intermediate goals required to reach the external goals. They may cover the development of a new product, a new service, a new IT system, a restructuring of finance, the refurbishing of a factory or the restructuring of an organization. An internally-focused business plan is often developed in conjunction with a balanced scorecard or OGSM or a list of critical success factors. This allows the success of the plan to be measured using non-financial measures.
Business plans that identify and target internal goals, but provide only general guidance on how they will be met are called strategic plans.
Operational plans describe the goals of an internal organization, working group or department. State of Louisiana, USA government agency operational plan Project plans, sometimes known as project frameworks, describe the goals of a particular project. They may also address the project's place within the organization's larger strategic goals. Tasmanian government project management knowledge base government project plan
Preparing a business plan draws on a wide range of knowledge from many different business disciplines: finance, human resource management, intellectual property management, supply chain management, operations management, and marketing, among others. Boston College, Carroll School of Management, Business Plan Project The business school advises students that "To create a robust business plan, teams must take a comprehensive view of the enterprise and incorporate management-practice knowledge from every first-semester course." It is increasingly common for business schools to use business plan projects to provide an opportunity for students to integrate knowledge learned through their courses. It can be helpful to view the business plan as a collection of sub-plans, one for each of the main business disciplines.Eric S. Siegel, Brian R. Ford, Jay M. Bornstein (1993), The Ernst & Young Business Plan Guide (New York: John Wiley and Sons)
"... a good business plan can help to make a good business credible, understandable, and attractive to someone who is unfamiliar with the business. Writing a good business plan can't guarantee success, but it can go a long way toward reducing the odds of failure."
The creation of a business plan entails five distinct steps. The first step in creating a business plan is to lay out the main business concept. The second step is to gather data regarding how doable your idea is, including more specifics about what your business entails. Third is to take the information you gathered from step three and add some focus and polish your plan. After you do that, you can begin to create an outline of what your business plan is, including specifics regarding your business idea. The fifth and final step in the process is to take your information and write it out in a way what your investors will be inclined to invest in your business.
An "elevator pitch" is a short summary of the plan's executive summary. This is often used as a teaser to awaken the interest of potential investors, customers, or strategic partners. It is called an elevator pitch as it is supposed to be content that can be explained to someone else quickly in an elevator. The elevator pitch should be between 30 and 60 seconds.
A pitch deck is a slide show and oral presentation that is meant to trigger discussion and interest potential investors in reading the written presentation. The content of the presentation is usually limited to the executive summary and a few key graphs showing financial trends and key decision-making benchmarks. If a new product is being proposed and time permits, a demonstration of the product may be included.
A written presentation for external stakeholders is a detailed, well written, and pleasingly formatted plan targeted at external stakeholders.
An internal operational plan is a detailed plan describing planning details that are needed by management but may not be of interest to external stakeholders. Such plans have a somewhat higher degree of candor and informality than the version targeted at external stakeholders and others.
Typical questions addressed by a business plan for a start-up venture
The key distinction between for-profit and non-profit organizations lies in their core objectives. For-profit organizations aim to maximize wealth, while non-profits focus on serving the greater good of society. In non-profits, a creative tension often arises as they strive to balance their mission-driven goals with the need to generate revenue or maintain financial sustainability.Bachani, J. (2014). Non-profit Vs. For-Profit. Indiaspora. http://www.indiaspora.org/non-profit-vs-for-profit/
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