6 Types of Business Plans

Business plans guide owners, management and investors as businesses start up and grow through stages of success. A business owner or prospective business owner writes a business plan to clarify each aspect of his business, describing the objectives that will anticipate and prepare for growth. Savvy business owners write a business plan to guide management and to promote investment capital.

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Types of business plans include, but are not limited to, start-up, internal, strategic, feasibility, operations and growth plans.

Start-Up Business Plans

New businesses should detail the steps to start the new enterprise with a start-up business plan. This document typically includes sections describing the company, the product or service your business will supply, market evaluations and your projected management team. Potential investors will also require a financial analysis with spreadsheets describing financial areas including, but not limited to, income, profit and cash flow projections.

Internal Business Plans

Internal business plans target a specific audience within the business, for example, the marketing team who need to evaluate a proposed project. This document will describe the company’s current state, including operational costs and profitability, then calculate if and how the business will repay any capital needed for the project. Internal plans provide information about project marketing, hiring and tech costs. They also typically include a market analysis illustrating target demographics, market size and the market’s positive effect on the company income.

Strategic Business Plans

A strategic business plan provides a high-level view of a company’s goals and how it will achieve them, laying out a foundational plan for the entire company. While the structure of a strategic plan differs from company to company, most include five elements: business vision, mission statement, definition of critical success factors, strategies for achieving objectives and an implementation schedule. A strategic business plan brings all levels of the business into the big picture, inspiring employees to work together to create a successful culmination to the company’s goals.

Feasibility Business Plans

A feasibility business plan answers two primary questions about a proposed business venture: who, if anyone, will purchase the service or product a company wants to sell, and if the venture can turn a profit. Feasibility business plans include, but are not limited to, sections describing the need for the product or service, target demographics and required capital. A feasibility plan ends with recommendations for going forward.

Operations Business Plans

Operations plans are internal plans that consist of elements related to company operations. An operations plan, specifies implementation markers and deadlines for the coming year. The operations plan outlines employees’ responsibilities.

Growth Business Plans

Growth plans or expansion plans are in-depth descriptions of proposed growth and are written for internal or external purposes. If company growth requires investment, a growth plan may include complete descriptions of the company, its management and officers. The plan must provide all company details to satisfy potential investors. If a growth plan needs no capital, the authors may forego obvious company descriptions, but will include financial sales and expense projections.