A business plan is a form of formal statement, which is set for business goals; it is a plan for reaching to the goals. Sometimes, business plan also consists of background information about the organization or about the team trying to achieve the goal. Business goals are set for both profit and non-profit organization. In a profit organization, business plan focuses on financial growth, like creation of wealth or profit. The non-profit organization’s business plan focuses on their mission, which is based on their government status. However, sometimes non-profit organizations also focus on optimizing revenue. A business plan may have changes in its primary goal; this is known as a marketing plan. Business plans are great decision-making tools and it has no fixed content.

The goals and audience determine the content and format of the business plan. A good business plan contains information on pursuing a goal. The preparation of a business plan usually draws a wide range of knowledge from other business disciplines like human resource management, supply chain management, operations management and many more. It is very helpful to look at a business plan as a collection of many sub plans, one for every main business discipline. A business plan has a specific format depending on its context of presentation. There are four types of business formats like elevator pitch, oral presentation, written presentation and integral operational plan.

Writing a business plan is not a difficult task. Here are some easy steps on how to write business plan.

Steps:



Gather and organize all the information of your business plan. You will have to include information about your company, service or product, market, customers, potential risk and competition.
Start writing an executive summary. This should be the first section of your plan. Make a two-page description covering all the possible details.
Describe your company and write the purpose of your business. Make sure that you mention the skills you and your management team posses.
Explain in detail your service or product. Give the details of how are you planning to make it or provide it to costumers. Analyze the total cost associated with this entire process. Make a list of your supply sources.
Mention something about the market you are going to enter. Discuss some upcoming and general trends in the industry. Mention some of the details of the market segment you want to pursue, you target audience and explain some of the buying habits of the customers. Properly analyze your competition.
In brief, give a description of your marketing plan. Explain the process of generating sales through public relations, promotion and advertising. Carefully estimate the overall cost. Give details of your yearly expenses.
Tips and Warnings:

Before you start writing, gather all the information required for making an effective business plan. Organize your research in the form of a outline and then you can start writing.
Do not make the plan too lengthy, you should limit your business plan to 50 pages. The lenders and investors get various business plans everyday. If your plan is short and interesting, the investors might look at it before discarding it.
Always remember that a business plan is a never-ending process. As your company grows, keep updating your business plan.

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