Business Plans

A business plan is a formal statement of a set of business goals, the reasons why they are believed attainable, and the plan for reaching those goals. It may also contain background information about the organization or team attempting to reach those goals.

 

The business goals in a "for-profit" business plan is typically financial in nature.

 

Business plans may also target changes in perception and branding by the customer, client, tax-payer, or larger community. A business plan having changes in perception and branding as its primary goals is called a "marketing plan."

 

Business plans may be internally or externally focused.

 

Externally focused plans target goals that are important to external stakeholders, particularly financial stakeholders. They typically have detailed information about the organization or team attempting to reach the goals. With for-profit entities, external stakeholders include investors and customers.

 

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 a restructuring of the organization.

 

An internal business is often developed in conjunction with a balanced scorecard or a list of critical success factors. This allows success of the plan to be measured using non-financial measures.

 

Other Types of Business Plans

 

Operational plans describe the goals of an internal organization, working group or department.

 

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.

 

Business plans that identify and target internal goals, but provide only general guidance on how they will be met are called "strategic plans."

 

How are Business Plans Used?

 

Business plans are decision-making tools.

 

There is no fixed content for a business plan. Rather the content and format of the business plan is determined by the goals and audience.

 

A business plan should contain whatever information is needed to decide whether or not to pursue a goal.

 

Banks are quite concerned about defaults, so a business plan for a bank loan will build a convincing case for the organization’s ability to repay the loan.

 

Venture capitalists are primarily concerned about initial investment, feasibility, and exit valuation. A business plan for a project requiring equity financing will need to explain why current resources, upcoming growth opportunities, and sustainable competitive advantage will lead to a high exit valuation.

 

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.

 

The principals of Spectrum Lenders have written scores of business plans used to secure debt and equity financing. Some of the business plans have been used as the basis from which public offerings were completed. A professional business plan is a living document used to measure the success of a company over time. A two to three page summary plan may be used to create interest in a particular company. A full plan, however, is necessary to actually secure significant financing and may contain 30 to 50 pages (or more).

 

A business plan should be re-written and revised about every six months for an average company. Sometimes plans may not need to be revised, as long as the company is on track to meet the objectives stipulated in the original business plan.

 

Contact Spectrum Lenders about helping write your business plan.

 

A comprehensive business plan will cost $3,500 to $7,500 depending on the amount of research needed to complete the plan.