Open Plan Definition in Business
In an era where more than 50% of small enterprises fail in their first year, having a clear, defined, and well-thought-out business plan is a crucial first step for setting up a business for long-term success. The business plan is an undeniably critical component to getting any company off the ground. It's key to securing financing, documenting your business model, outlining your financial projections, and turning that nugget of a business idea into a reality. Business plans are a required tool for all entrepreneurs, business owners, business acquirers, and even business school students. But … what exactly is a business plan? In this post, we'll explain what a business plan is, the reasons why you'd need one, identify different types of business plans, and what you should include in yours. A business plan is a documented strategy for a business that highlights its goals and its plans for achieving them. It outlines a company's go-to-market plan, financial projections, market research, business purpose, and mission statement. Key staff who are responsible for achieving the goals may also be included in the business plan along with a timeline. The purpose of a business plan is three-fold: It summarizes the organization's strategy in order to execute it long term, secures financing from investors, and helps forecast future business demands. Working on your business plan? Try using our Business Plan Template. Pre-filled with the sections a great business plan needs, the template will give aspiring entrepreneurs a feel for what a business plan is, what should be in it, and how it can be used to establish and grow a business from the ground up. Chances are, someone drafting a business plan will be doing so for one or more of the following reasons: Since its contents revolve around how businesses succeed, break-even, and turn a profit, a business plan is used as a tool for sourcing capital. This document is an entrepreneur's way of showing potential investors or lenders how their capital will be put to work and how it will help the business thrive. All banks, investors, and venture capital firms will want to see a business plan before handing over their money, and investors typically expect a 10% ROI or more from the capital they invest in a business. Therefore, these investors need to know if – and when – they'll be making their money back (and then some). Additionally, they'll want to read about the process and strategy for how the business will reach those financial goals, which is where the context provided by sales, marketing, and operations plans come into play. A business plan should leave no stone unturned. Business plans can span dozens or even hundreds of pages, affording their drafters the opportunity to explain what a business' goals are and how the business will achieve them. To show potential investors that they've addressed every question and thought through every possible scenario, entrepreneurs should thoroughly explain their marketing, sales, and operations strategies – from acquiring a physical location for the business to explaining a tactical approach for marketing penetration. These explanations should ultimately lead to a business' break-even point supported by a sales forecast and financial projections, with the business plan writer being able to speak to the why behind anything outlined in the plan. Everyone's got a great idea for a company – until they put pen to paper and realize that it's not exactly feasible. A business plan is an aspiring entrepreneur's way to prove that a business idea is actually worth pursuing. As entrepreneurs document their go-to-market process, capital needs, and expected return on investment, entrepreneurs likely come across a few hiccups that will make them second guess their strategies and metrics – and that's exactly what the business plan is for. It ensures an entrepreneur's ducks are in a row before bringing their business idea to the world and reassures the readers that whoever wrote the plan is serious about the idea, having put hours into thinking of the business idea, fleshing out growth tactics, and calculating financial projections. Speaking from personal experience, there's a chance you're here to get business plan ideas for your Business 101 class project. If that's the case, might we suggest checking out this post on How to Write a Business Plan – providing a section-by-section guide on creating your plan? Every great business plan starts with a captivating title and subtitle. You'll want to make it clear that the document is, in fact, a business plan, but the subtitle can help tell the story of your business in just a short sentence. Although this is the last part of the business plan that you'll write, it's the first section (and maybe the only section) that stakeholders will read. The executive summary of a business plan sets the stage for the rest of the document. It includes your company's mission or vision statement, value proposition, and long-term goals. This brief part of your business plan will detail your business name, years in operation, key offerings, and positioning statement. You might even add core values or a short history of the company. The company description's role in a business plan is to introduce your business to the reader in a compelling and concise way. The business opportunity should convince investors that your organization meets the needs of the market in a way that no other company can. This section explains the specific problem your business solves within the marketplace and how it solves them. It will include your value proposition as well as some high level information about your target market. Just about every industry has more than one player in the market. Even if your business owns the majority of the market share in your industry or your business concept is the first of its kind, you still have competition. In the competitive analysis section, you'll take an objective look at the industry landscape to determine where your business fits. A SWOT analysis is an organized way to format this section. Who are the core customers of your business and why? The target market portion of your business plan outlines this in detail. The target market should explain the demographics, psychographics, behavioristics, and geographics of the ideal customer. Marketing is expansive, and it'll be tempting to cover every type of marketing possible, but a brief overview of how you'll market your unique value proposition to your target audience, followed by a tactical plan will suffice. Think broadly and narrow down from there: Will you focus on a slow-and-steady play where you make an upfront investment in organic customer acquisition? Or will you generate lots of quick customers using a pay-to-play advertising strategy? This kind of information should guide the marketing plan section of your business plan. Money doesn't grow on trees and even the most digital, sustainable businesses have expenses. Outlining a financial summary of where your business is currently and where you'd like it to be in the future will substantiate this section. Consider including any monetary information that will give potential investors a glimpse into the financial health of your business. Assets, liabilities, expenses, debt, investments, revenue, and more are all fair game here. So, you've outlined some great goals, the business opportunity is valid, and the industry is ready for what you have to offer. Who's responsible for turning all this high-level talk into results? The "team" section of your business plan answers that question by providing an overview of the roles responsible for each goal. Don't worry if you don't have every team member on board yet, knowing what roles to hire for is helpful as you seek funding from investors. Remember that one of the goals of a business plan is to secure funding from investors, so you'll need to include funding requirements you'd like them to fulfill. The amount your business needs, for what reasons, and for how long will meet the requirement for this section. There's no one size fits all business plan as there are several types of businesses in the market today. From startups with just one founder to historic household names that need to stay competitive, every type of business needs a business plan that's tailored to its needs. Below are a few of the most common types of business plans. For even more examples, check out these 11 sample business plans to help you write your own. As one of the most common types of business plans, a startup business plan is used for brand new business ideas. This plan is used to lay the foundation for the eventual success of a business. The biggest challenge with the startup business plan is that it's written completely from scratch. Startup business plans typically reference existing industry data and explain unique business strategies and go-to-market plans. Believe it or not, investors use business plans to acquire existing businesses, too — not just new businesses. A business plan for an existing company will explain how an acquisition will change its operating model, what will stay the same under new ownership, and why things will change or stay the same. Additionally, the business plan should speak to what the current state of the business is and why it's up for sale. For example, if someone is purchasing a failing business, the business plan should explain why the business is being purchased and what the new owner will do to turn the business around, referencing previous business metrics, sales projections after the acquisition, and a justification for those projections. When a business wants to avoid acquisition, reposition its brand, or try something new, CEOs or owners will develop a business repositioning plan. This plan will: Companies planning for a business reposition do so – proactively or retroactively – due to a shift in market trends and customer needs. For example, Pizza Hut announced a plan to drastically overhaul its brand, as it sees the need to shift from dine-in to delivery – a decision resulting from observing years of industry and company trends and acknowledging the need to reposition itself for the future of its sector. Expanding a successful business venture into another location typically requires a business plan, as the project may focus on a new target market and demand more capital. Fortunately, an expansion business plan isn't like a startup business plan in that it starts from scratch. Instead, this type of plan references sales, revenue, and successes from existing locations. However, as great as a reference as these points can be, it's important to not be too reliant on them since it's still a new business that could succeed or fail for a myriad of reasons. At the end of the day, a business plan is simply an explanation of a business idea and why it will be successful. The more detail and thought you put into it, the more successful your plan – and the business it outlines – will be. When writing your business plan, you'll benefit from extensive research, feedback from your team or board of directors, and a solid template to organize your thoughts. If you need one of these, download HubSpot's Free Business Plan Template below to get started. 
What is a business plan?
What is a business plan used for?
Business Plan Template [Download Now]
Purposes of a Business Plan
1. Securing financing from investors.
2. Documenting a company's strategy and goals.
To show potential investors that they've addressed every question and thought through every possible scenario, entrepreneurs should thoroughly explain their marketing, sales, and operations strategies – from acquiring a physical location for the business to explaining a tactical approach for marketing penetration.
3. Legitimizing a business idea.
4. Getting an A in your business class.
What does a business plan need to include?
1. Business Plan Subtitle
2. Executive Summary
3. Company Description
4. The Business Opportunity
5. Competitive Analysis
6. Target Market
7. Marketing Plan
8. Financial Summary
9. Team
10. Funding Requirements
Types of Business Plans
1. Startup Business Plan
2. Business Acquisition Plan
3. Business Repositioning Plan
4. Expansion Business Plan
Getting Started With Your Business Plan
Originally published Sep 1, 2021 11:45:00 AM, updated September 02 2021
Open Plan Definition in Business
Source: https://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/what-is-business-plan
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