The business plan can range from a few pages to twenty-five pages or more, depending on the purpose and the intended audience.

Most business plans have several distinct sections ( Figure 11.16). Like the canvas, the various versions of the business plan are tools that will aid you in your entrepreneurial endeavor. You may encounter different people who want different things (canvas, summary, full business plan), and you also have flexibility in following whatever tool works best for you. As you progress, you can also consider a brief business plan (about two pages)-if you want to support a rapid business launch-and/or a standard business plan.Īs with many aspects of entrepreneurship, there are no clear hard and fast rules to achieving entrepreneurial success.

48 His version is basically an extension of a napkin sketch without the detail of a full business plan. For instance, Chris Guillebeau has a one-page business plan template in his book The $100 Startup. There are also entrepreneurs who use the business plan earlier in the entrepreneurial process, either preceding or concurrently with a canvas. Some entrepreneurs prefer to use the canvas process instead of the business plan, whereas others use a shorter version of the business plan, submitting it to investors after several iterations. The business plan is a roadmap for the company to follow over multiple years. The business plan usually projects financial data over a three-year period and is typically required by banks or other investors to secure funding. An in-depth formal business plan would follow at later stages after various iterations to business model canvases. A business plan is likely to describe the business and industry, market strategies, sales potential, and competitive analysis, as well as the company’s long-term goals and objectives. Although nothing in business is permanent, a business plan typically has components that are more “set in stone” than a business model canvas, which is more commonly used as a first step in the planning process and throughout the early stages of a nascent business. Investors nearly always request a formal business plan because it is an integral part of their evaluation of whether to invest in a company. It typically includes background information, financial information, and a summary of the business. Unlike the brief or lean formats introduced so far, the business plan is a formal document used for the long-range planning of a company’s operation. Describe and develop the components of a full business plan.Describe and develop the components of a brief business plan.Describe the different purposes of a business plan.

By the end of this section, you will be able to:

Reality capture promo license