Business Plan

The Business Plan is a written summary of what you hope to accomplish by being in business and how you intend to organize your resources to meet your goals. It is the road map for operating your business and measuring progress along the way. The primary value of your business plan will be to create a written outline that evaluates all aspects of the economic viability of your business venture including a description and analysis of your business prospects.

A business plan is necessary for three primary reasons:

• It gives business owners a current assessment of the business as well as a roadmap for the future.
• It helps a business grow, both organically and through outside funding.
• It is essential to have an up to date business plan in order to secure financing, ranging from an overdraft facility or bank loan to venture capital funding.

The business plan/budget is a living document that should be continuously reviewed in light of the business environment and actual performance. In addition there should be formal reviews on a quarterly basis. This enables the directors to oversee business performance. Business planning should operate on a rolling five years, while the budget is likely to be required only for the coming financial year. Business plans can vary enormously. Libraries and bookstores have books devoted to business plan formats.

Related Study

• Benefits of business plan
• Preparing to write your business plan
• Using your business plan
• What to avoid in business plan
• Business plan format
• Common mistakes in preparing business plan
• Components of business plan
• Planning for profits