Project plans, sometimes known as project frameworks, describe the goals of a particular project. Operational plans describe the goals of an internal organization, working group or department. This allows the success of the plan to be measured using non-financial measures.īusiness plans that identify and target internal goals, but provide only general guidance on how they will be met are called strategic plans. An internally-focused business plan is often developed in conjunction with a balanced scorecard or OGSM or a list of critical success factors. They may cover the development of a new product, a new service, a new IT system, a restructuring of finance, the refurbishing of a factory or the restructuring of an organization.

Internally-focused business plans target intermediate goals required to reach the external goals. With for-profit entities, external stakeholders include investors and customers, for non-profits, external stakeholders refer to donors and clients, for government agencies, external stakeholders are the tax-payers, higher-level government agencies, and international lending bodies such as the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, various economic agencies of the United Nations, and development banks. These plans typically have detailed information about the organization or the team making effort to reach its goals. Externally-focused plans draft goals that are important to outside stakeholders, particularly financial stakeholders.

Templates and guides, such as the ones offered in the United States by the Small Business Administration can be used to facilitate producing a business plan.īusiness plans may be internally or externally focused. Written business plans are often required to obtain a bank loan or other kind of financing. In its entirety, this document serves as a road-map (a plan) that provides direction to the business. It also describes the nature of the business, background information on the organization, the organization's financial projections, and the strategies it intends to implement to achieve the stated targets.

A business plan is a formal written document containing the goals of a business, the methods for attaining those goals, and the time-frame for the achievement of the goals.

Business plan outline