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BUSINESS STRATEGIES

7 types of business plans every entrepreneur should know

• Amanda Bellucco Chatham
• Aug 3, 2023

What’s the difference between a small business that achieves breakthrough growth and one that fizzles quickly after launch? Oftentimes, it’s having a solid business plan.

Business plans provide you with a roadmap that will take you from wantrepreneur to entrepreneur. It will guide nearly every decision you make, from the people you hire and the products or services you offer, to the look and feel of the business website you create.

But did you know that there are many different types of business plans? Some types are best for new businesses looking to attract funding. Others help to define the way your company will operate day-to-day. You can even create a plan that prepares your business for the unexpected.

Read on to learn the seven most common types of business plans and determine which one fits your immediate needs.

What is a business plan?

A business plan is a written document that defines your company’s goals and explains how you will achieve them. Putting this information down on paper brings valuable benefits. It gives you insight into your competitors, helps you develop a unique value proposition and lets you set metrics that will guide you to profitability. It’s also a necessity to obtain funding through banks or investors.

Keep in mind that a business plan isn’t a one-and-done exercise. It’s a living document that you should update regularly as your company evolves. But which type of plan is right for your business?

7 common types of business plans

Startup business plan

Feasibility business plan

One-page business plan

What-if business plan

Growth business plan

Operations business plan

Strategic business plan

01. Startup business plan

The startup business plan is a comprehensive document that will set the foundation for your company’s success. It covers all aspects of a business, including a situation analysis, detailed financial information and a strategic marketing plan.

Startup plans serve two purposes: internally, they provide a step-by-step guide that you and your team can use to start a business and generate results on day one. Externally, they prove the validity of your business concept to banks and investors, whose capital you’ll likely need to make your entrepreneurial dreams a reality.

Elements of a startup business plan should include the following steps:

Executive summary : Write a brief synopsis of your company’s concept, potential audience, product or services, and the amount of funding required.

Company overview: Go into detail about your company’s location and its business goals. Be sure to include your company’s mission statement , which explains the “why” behind your business idea.

Products or services: Explain exactly what your business will offer to its customers. Include detailed descriptions and pricing.

Situation analysis: Use market research to explain the competitive landscape, key demographics and the current status of your industry.

Marketing plan: Discuss the strategies you’ll use to build awareness for your business and attract new customers or clients.

Management bios: Introduce the people who will lead your company. Include bios that detail their industry-specific background.

Financial projections: Be transparent about startup costs, cash flow projections and profit expectations.

Don’t be afraid to go into too much detail—a startup business plan can often run multiple pages long. Investors will expect and appreciate your thoroughness. However, if you have a hot new product idea and need to move fast, you can consider a lean business plan. It’s a popular type of business plan in the tech industry that focuses on creating a minimum viable product first, then scaling the business from there.

02. Feasibility business plan

Let’s say you started a boat rental company five years ago. You’ve steadily grown your business. Now, you want to explore expanding your inventory by renting out jet skis, kayaks and other water sports equipment. Will it be profitable? A feasibility business plan will let you know.

Often called a decision-making plan, a feasibility business plan will help you understand the viability of offering a new product or launching into a new market. These business plans are typically internal and focus on answering two questions: Does the market exist, and will you make a profit from it? You might use a feasibility plan externally, too, if you need funding to support your new product or service.

Because you don’t need to include high-level, strategic information about your company, your feasibility business plan will be much shorter and more focused than a startup business plan. Feasibility plans typically include:

A description of the new product or service you wish to launch

A market analysis using third-party data

The target market , or your ideal customer profile

Any additional technology or personnel needs required

Required capital or funding sources

Predicted return on investment

Standards to objectively measure feasibility

A conclusion that includes recommendations on whether or not to move forward

03. One-page business plan

Imagine you’re a software developer looking to launch a tech startup around an app that you created from scratch. You’ve already written a detailed business plan, but you’re not sure if your strategy is 100% right. How can you get feedback from potential partners, customers or friends without making them slog through all 32 pages of the complete plan?

That’s where a one-page business plan comes in handy. It compresses your full business plan into a brief summary. Think of it as a cross between a business plan and an elevator pitch—an ideal format if you’re still fine-tuning your business plan. It’s also a great way to test whether investors will embrace your company, its mission or its goals.

Ideally, a one-page business plan should give someone a snapshot of your company in just a few minutes. But while brevity is important, your plan should still hit all the high points from your startup business plan. To accomplish this, structure a one-page plan similar to an outline. Consider including:

A short situation analysis that shows the need for your product or service

Your unique value proposition

Your mission statement and vision statement

Your target market

Your management team

The funding you’ll need

Financial projections

Expected results

Because a one-page plan is primarily used to gather feedback, make sure the format you choose is easy to update. That way, you can keep it fresh for new audiences.

04. What-if business plan

Pretend that you’re an accountant who started their own financial consulting business. You’re rapidly signing clients and growing your business when, 18 months into your new venture, you’re given the opportunity to buy another established firm in a nearby town. Is it a risk worth taking?

The what-if business plan will help you find an answer. It’s perfect for entrepreneurs who are looking to take big risks, such as acquiring or merging with another company, testing a new pricing model or adding an influx of new staff.

A what-if plan is additionally a great way to test out a worst-case scenario. For example, if you’re in the restaurant business, you can create a plan that explores the potential business repercussions of a public health emergency (like the COVID-19 pandemic), and then develop strategies to mitigate its effects.

You can share your what-if plan internally to prepare your leadership team and staff. You can also share it externally with bankers and partners so that they know your business is built to withstand any hard times. Include in your plan:

A detailed description of the business risk or other scenario

The impact it will have on your business

Specific actions you’ll take in a worst-case scenario

Risk management strategies you’ll employ

05. Growth business plan

Let’s say you’re operating a hair salon (see how to create a hair salon business plan ). You see an opportunity to expand your business and make it a full-fledged beauty bar by adding skin care, massage and other sought-after services. By creating a growth business plan, you’ll have a blueprint that will take you from your current state to your future state.

Sometimes called an expansion plan, a growth business plan is something like a crystal ball. It will help you see one to two years into the future. Creating a growth plan lets you see how far—and how fast—you can scale your business. It lets you know what you’ll need to get there, whether it’s funding, materials, people or property.

The audience for your growth plan will depend on your expected sources of capital. If you’re funding your expansion from within, then the audience is internal. If you need to attract the attention of outside investors, then the audience is external.

Much like a startup plan, your growth business plan should be rather comprehensive, especially if the people reviewing it aren’t familiar with your company. Include items specific to your potential new venture, including:

A brief assessment of your business’s current state

Information about your management team

A thorough analysis of the growth opportunity you’re seeking

The target audience for your new venture

The current competitive landscape

Resources you’ll need to achieve growth

Detailed financial forecasts

A funding request

Specific action steps your company will take

A timeline for completing those action steps

Another helpful thing to include in a growth business plan is a SWOT analysis . SWOT stands for strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. A SWOT analysis will help you evaluate your performance, and that of your competitors. Including this type of in-depth review will show your investors that you’re making an objective, data-driven decision to expand your business, helping to build confidence and trust.

06. Operations business plan

You’ve always had a knack for accessories and have chosen to start your own online jewelry store. Even better, you already have your eCommerce business plan written. Now, it’s time to create a plan for how your company will implement its business model on a day-to-day basis.

An operations business plan will help you do just that. This internal-focused document will explain how your leadership team and your employees will propel your company forward. It should include specific responsibilities for each department, such as human resources, finance and marketing.

When you sit down to write an operations plan, you should use your company’s overall goals as your guide. Then, consider how each area of your business will contribute to those goals. Be sure to include:

A high-level overview of your business and its goals

A clear layout of key employees, departments and reporting lines

Processes you’ll use (i.e., how you’ll source products and fulfill orders)

Facilities and equipment you’ll need to conduct business effectively

Departmental budgets required

Risk management strategies that will ensure business continuity

Compliance and legal considerations

Clear metrics for each department to achieve

Timelines to help you reach those metrics

A measurement process to keep your teams on track

07. Strategic business plan

Say you open a coffee shop, but you know that one store is just the start. Eventually, you want to open multiple locations throughout your region. A strategic business plan will serve as your guide, helping define your company’s direction and decision-making over the next three to five years.

You should use a strategic business plan to align all of your internal stakeholders and employees around your company’s mission, vision and future goals. Your strategic plan should be high-level enough to create a clear vision of future success, yet also detailed enough to ensure you reach your eventual destination.

Be sure to include:

An executive summary

A company overview

Your mission and vision statements

Market research

A SWOT analysis

Specific, measurable goals you wish to achieve

Strategies to meet those goals

Financial projections based on those goals

Timelines for goal attainment

Related Posts

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Free business plan template for small businesses

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8 Types of Business Plans: The Complete List Explained

by  Antony W

December 5, 2022

In this guide, we’ll discuss the different types of business plans and where they apply.

An efficient business plan enables the concerned entity to decide the best ways of addressing challenges to ensure sustainability and survive for many years.

Your business could suffer from unprecedented events and fail to overcome severe setbacks if the plan ignored warning signs. Drafting a realistic plan facilitates business growth because resources are aligned with needs.

You can get the best results from business plans responding to crises on time and avoid ambiguous terms that fail to offer necessary answers.

8 Types of Business Plans Explained

This article intends to explore the various categories of business plans using detailed approaches that help identify weaknesses for correction and opportunities for investment.

1. Standard Business Plan

This category involves detailed descriptions of the operations and can be used by different stakeholders to understand the business comprehensively.

Drafting your standard business plan can be tedious when incorporating such information as an executive summary, competitive analysis, SWOT analysis, and market summary.

All the information in the plan is presented accurately because investors rely on the details to evaluate risks and potential before releasing funds.

Besides, the financial plan, problem analysis, and management objectives are included to ensure that the plan dictates all business aspects.

2. Lean Business Plan

The plan is condensed and straightforward because most details are only listed without explaining various factors.

The lean business plan highlights and summarizes the concepts and documents in the standard plan.

Most people consider using the business plan for its conciseness and efficient communication highlighting significant milestones.

You will enjoy flexible conditions using the lean approach because independent statements are shown in bullet form.

The necessary details you should consider in the plan are operation strategies, financial projections, metrics, and tactics essential for success as the business must experience challenges.

3. One-page Business Plan

You can use the one-page variety to communicate more concisely and facilitate successful pitching activities to stakeholders.

The main advantage of a one-page business plan is presenting all the necessary information briefly to retain the audience’s attention and ignore peripheral explanations.

Using the one-page business plan gives vendors, employees, and partners a quick overview during official events to update everyone on essential developments.

Your one-page business plan should summarize the target market, operational requirements, objectives, forecasts, and available products. The concise presentation in this business plan saves time and promotes efficiency.

4. Startup Business Plan

The main idea of this plan is to establish the main techniques for enabling a business to start operating under the prevailing conditions.

Developing an effective startup business plan ensures that every initial idea is scored after a specified period to identify SWOT analysis grounds.

The startup plan incorporates elements of lean and standard business plans, and detailed sections are common when establishing new techniques to support operations.

You will have to address licensing, business permits, necessary equipment, and human resource management questions. The plan varies according to the nature of business activities, but comprehensive details are mandatory.

5. Strategic Business Plan

The strategic business plan describes roadmaps to propel an entity into success after overcoming various challenges and exploring opportunities.

The plan allows you to influence stakeholders to focus on specific aspects that eventually contribute to the desired success.

The strategic approaches best suit business operations when SWOT analyses provide essential details on the mission, vision, and factors in the internal and external business environment.

A strategic intervention for business operations describes the implementation process and calls all parties to support the plan.

Your strategic business plan will probably remain within the business, but the approach should respond to external factors.

6. Feasibility Business Plan

This category applies best when your business wants to determine the existence of new markets and potential gains from such investments.

The preparation process requires understanding the current business situation, evaluating opportunities, and consolidating funds to support the new ventures.

Your feasibility business plan will often lead to recommendations that point out weaknesses and indicate ideas for growth after investments.

The practical aspect of such statements is critical to ensure that resources are allocated only to viable business activities in a continuous yet dynamic environment.

7. Operational Business Plan

Business operations are divided into specific processes that allow monitoring to establish the best ways of utilizing resources and achieving maximum benefits.

The operational business plan is lean and focused on the implementation processes after goals are set, and resources are allocated to particular functions.

Specific sections in the operating business plan will describe milestones, responsibilities, stakeholders, and goals.

The internal focus in the plan means that outsiders cannot contribute significantly to the process but can participate in evaluation and tracking progress.

You can develop adequate motivational conditions for employees in an organization by involving them in planning and setting goals.

8. Growth Business Plan

The growth objectives in a business influence the activities aimed at facilitating the expansion, and specific activities are described to achieve the milestones.

Your focus on growth requires accurate descriptions of long-term goals and the steps needed to ignite the desired change immediately.

The growth business plan incorporates internal and external aspects to forecast, analyze, and get the right resources for expansion.

It would be best if you allowed the ideas of a What-if business plan to reinforce a growth plan because risky investments require adequate preparations to deal with the worst possible outcomes.

Effective business planning has demonstrated positive impacts by ensuring that investment decisions align with the operational blueprint to achieve success.

All businesses require adequate planning to enable investors and entrepreneurs to understand the scope of operations, audience, and purpose of starting operations.

Your ability to identify problems and opportunities is essential for facilitating successful plans that help avoid errors and create opportunities.

Business plans vary in complexity and details because different industries and operation stages require unique approaches to generate the most benefits for investors and the target market.

You can develop various business plans while starting and expanding a business because the overall goal is finding success.

Therefore, business planning is critical for success because a lack of strategic investments dwarfs operations and hinders the ability to increase profitability for growth.

About the author 

Antony W is a professional writer and coach at Help for Assessment. He spends countless hours every day researching and writing great content filled with expert advice on how to write engaging essays, research papers, and assignments.

What Type of Business Plan Do You Need?

8 min. read

Updated October 27, 2023

We get this question a lot, mainly because there are so many different things labelled as business plans: strategic plans, annual plans, operational plans, feasibility plans, and, of course, what most people think of, business plans for startups seeking investment. And also, what real business owners want—lean business plans for better management.

In this article, we’re going to help you figure out which plan is the one for you.

• Start with this: Form follows function

Put all business plans into this basic principle: form follows function . What do you want your business plan to do for you? That business objective should determine what kind of a plan you need.

All businesses start with a lean plan

These are things that every business owner needs to do in order to run the business effectively. They apply to all businesses, large or small, startup or not:

• Develop and execute strategy
• Set priorities
• Allocate efforts and resources according to priorities
• Establish tasks, responsibilities, and performance expectations
• Track results and compare them to expectations
• Manage cash flow
• Budget sales and spending

So, every business is better off with a lean plan.

It’s a short, effective collection of bullet points, lists, and forecasts, covering all of the functions above:

• It starts with bullet points for strategy. This isn’t text for outsiders. It’s not explanations; it’s reminders, for the entrepreneur and her team, of the major strategy points. Strategy is focus, so it’s a reminder of the target market, the product (or service), and the business identity. Sometimes it also includes a definition of success. It’s important, but just the bullet point reminders.
• Then come tactics. Strategy is useless without tactics. These are also bullet points. They are the important decisions made regarding key points of a marketing plan, product plan, financial plan, recruitment plan … not explanations or details for outsiders, but just the main points for you and your team. Think about pricing, channels, social media, launch dates, products, services, features, and so forth.
• Third part is concrete specifics. That includes a list of assumptions, important milestones, tasks, deadlines, responsibilities, and measurable performance expectations.
• The fourth and final part is budgets. That’s sales forecast, spending budget, and cash flow.

Make this the lean plan and add a regular process of review and revision to keep it fresh. You can download a free template for a lean business plan here . Can you imagine any business that isn’t better off for having at least this kind of planning in place, even if they don’t need an elaborate business plan? I can’t.

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• Lean plan for startups:

All startups can benefit from the lean plan above plus one extra ingredient: starting costs, and starting plans.

Starting costs

Starting costs are a matter of two lists: one for starting expenses, the other for starting assets.

The first list includes expenses like legal costs, logo, initial website, fixing up a location, and similar expenses that a startup business incurs once; and in some cases the expense of running expenses, such as rent and payroll, that have to start before launch for practical reasons.

The second includes assets required at start. These are items like starting inventory, equipment, and starting cash.

Startup plan

Keep it simple like the tactics in the normal lean plan, but add some bullets and concrete specifics for tasks and timing to get a startup going. These are items like choosing the location, setting up initial branding and website,  accounts for social media, and launch events.

• A plan for the SBA, banks, investors, buyers, and partners

If you need to present a business plan to your bank or prospective investors, start with your latest revised lean business plan as the first draft. The lean plan is just for management. Dress that up to include the additional content that outsiders will want and need.

Add summaries and explanations

Add a very strong executive summary because some of your outsider target readers will read only that. Keep it short and make it fit the need. Often there’s a selling-the-idea or selling-the-potential purpose to a written plan, and in that case you make the summary include the highlights you want those readers to see to pique their interest.

Your lean plan doesn’t include details about your strategy, your company, your market, or your product. It has just summary tactics for marketing plan, product plan, financial plan, and management plan. Think of your readers—outsiders looking in—and help them understand the business. Achieve the specific goal of this dressed-up business plan.

Add formal financial projections

While the lean plan might be fine with just sales forecast, expense budget, and cash management, a business plan for a business plan event normally has to include formal financial projections that respect finance and accounting standards and include Profit and Loss, Cash Flow, and Balance Sheet. Banks will want to see projections of key ratios as well, and investors will like a Use of Funds table and sometimes a Break-even Analysis.

Stay mindful of the business purpose

We call it the business plan event—that’s the specific business need for a dressed-up plan. Form follows function here too.

A plan for investors will emphasize different elements than a plan for a bank loan. The investors want to see product-market fit; potential growth; something proprietary and protectable like technology, patents, trade secrets, or so-called secret sauce; and potential investor exit in a few years. The bank wants to see stability, credit history, collateral, and guarantees. A business broker or business buyer wants to see what can be most useful under new ownership.

Plan, pitch, and summary memo go together

Some business plan events require some special variations of your plan output. These days investors expect to see a short summary memo first. That’s a two to five page summary of your plan, a lot like your executive summary, but it stands alone. Then, if they like what they see from the summary, investors will want a pitch presentation. That’s a 20-40 minute slide presentation that backs up a verbal presentation, you with investors.

Neither summary memo nor pitch deck stand alone. They have to be summaries of your underlying plan. A pitch presentation is only really successful if it summarizes a real plan with a lot of concrete details on financials, milestones, traction, and next steps. Don’t get caught without a plan you can dig into when investors start asking more questions.

• Business plans have lots of different names

Shakespeare wrote, “a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.” I say a plan by any other name is still a plan. Here are some common varieties and business plan vocabulary.

Most lean plans are also internal plans

An operations plan—also called an annual plan—is a type of internal plan. An operations plan includes specific implementation milestones, project deadlines, and responsibilities of team members and managers. This is the plan used for staying on track to meet your goals as a business. Planning for your goals as a business allows your company to assign priorities, focus on results, and track your progress. Your operations plan covers the inner workings of your business. It outlines the specifics of who should be doing what, and when they should be doing it.

Of course, cash flow figures prominently here as well. For example, your milestones will need to have sufficient funding for their implementation, and you’ll need to track your progress so you know how much you’re spending.

A growth or expansion plan focuses on a specific area of a business, or a subset of the business. For example, a plan for the creation of a new product is a growth plan. These plans could be internal plans or not, depending on whether they are being linked to loan applications or new investment. An expansion plan requiring new outside investment would include full company descriptions and background on the management team, just the same as a standard plan for investors would. Loan applications would require this much detail as well.

However, an internal plan used to set up the steps for growth or expansion that is funded internally could skip these descriptions. It might not be necessary to include detailed financial projections for the company overall, but it should at least include detailed forecasts of sales and expenses for the new venture or product.

What’s a strategic plan?

A strategic plan is another kind of internal plan. A strategic plan incorporates the financial information and milestones of an operations plan, but focuses more on setting company-wide priorities. As you build the strategy for your company and decide how to implement it, you will want to examine your strengths and weaknesses as a business. What does your company do well? As your company grows, you want to play to your strengths. Strategy is often a matter of selecting the right opportunities. Resources should be funneled strategically to the areas where they will provide the biggest overall benefits.

Once you have an idea of your strategy, you must have a plan for implementing it. This is where the milestones portion of the plan becomes key. To effectively execute your strategies, it’s critical to assign responsibilities and have a schedule for following through. The implementation tactics you use will actively move you in the right direction toward achieving your goals.

Resources for moving forward

Reading about the different types of business plans is a good jumping-off point in the process of creating a business plan. If you’re looking for more information about business plans and how to write them, you’ll find our business planning tutorials  and sample business plan library to be helpful resources.

See why 1.2 million entrepreneurs have written their business plans with LivePlan

Tim Berry is the founder and chairman of Palo Alto Software , a co-founder of Borland International, and a recognized expert in business planning. He has an MBA from Stanford and degrees with honors from the University of Oregon and the University of Notre Dame. Today, Tim dedicates most of his time to blogging, teaching and evangelizing for business planning.

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Start » startup, 5 types of business plans for startups.

If you’re a startup, here are five different types of business plans to help achieve your professional goals.

Writing a business plan is an important process for every startup. In its simplest form, a business plan is a formal document that contains your goals for the company and the timeline in which you'd like to achieve them. While many stick to writing the "standard" business plan, there are various types of business plans you can choose from, depending on your goals. Choosing the right plan for your business can ease the writing process and help you better achieve your objectives. Here are five types of business plans to help you decide which is right for you.

[Read: 5 Common Sense Reasons to Write a Business Plan and 7 Mistakes to Avoid ]

Standard plan

A standard business plan (often referred to as a “working plan”) sets an overview of your company, states your goals and outlines how and when you will achieve them. For any business, they’re an important tool in helping you secure financing, such as a loan or an investment. Lenders and investors will want to know how you plan to use their money and make a profit. A business plan will accurately state how you intend to do this, list the achievable goals and put them in a realistic time frame.

Other aspects to include in your plan depend on your audience. You may include more information about cash flow and expenses for investors, or more of the day-to-day operations and goals for your employees.

What-if plan

In business, not everything will go according to plan. A what-if business plan outlines different roadblocks your company might battle so you can be prepared for anything. Because businesses are often at the whims of external factors such as the stock market or supply chain, this plan outlines the various predictable scenarios your company could face. In writing this plan, you might consider including the worst-case scenario to reassure investors that even if something goes wrong, you will have a way to financially recover. This plan can be part of the standard business plan or exist entirely on its own.

In business, not everything will go according to plan. A what-if business plan outlines different roadblocks your company might battle so you can be prepared for anything.

One-page plan

Your business plan should be filled with detailed information about various aspects of your business. However, sometimes you'll come across someone outside of a formal pitch and want to give them a condensed version of your plan for quick reference. A one-page business plan outlines your plan in five simple, easy-to-read sections: the demand, your solution, your business model, your management team and your plan of action. The content on your one-page plan should be a summarized version of your more robust business plan.

[Read: Starting Over? How to Write a Business Plan for a Post-Pandemic World ]

Startup plan

If you're an entrepreneur who's in the early stages of planning their business, your plan may look a little different. A startup business plan is for potential investors to get an idea of your new company and what you hope to achieve as your company grows. This plan should include an executive summary, your background, what your service or product will provide, your market evaluations, startup costs and your financial projections.

Because this is a plan for a business that does not yet exist or is in its infantry, it is essential to outline who you are and your background, as well as your proven track record. Investors want to know if they can trust you with their money to start a brand-new business. They'll be more open to financing your idea if they know you have similar experience or have worked in or created a startup previously.

Expansion plan

An expansion plan is written when a business is looking to scale themselves and requires additional resources for that development. These resources can include additional employees, new materials or a financial investment. Within this plan, include details of your company's background and how you've grown to where you are today. Then, outline how these additional resources will contribute to the expansion of your company and what that expansion will mean for your overall growth.

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14 Types of Business Plans and Their Functions

By: Author Tony Martins Ajaero

Home » Business Plans

Are you about starting a business but you don’t know what kind of business plan to write? If YES, here are 14 types of business plans and their functions.

A business plan is a formal written document that contains business goals, the methods on how these goals can be attained, and the time frame within which these goals need to be achieved. Business plans guide owners, management and investors during the start off stage of the business, and it equally guides the business as it grows from one stage to the other.

Savvy business owners write a business plan to guide management and to promote investment capital. Businesses without a solid plan typically burn out fast or fail to turn a profit in the long run. Without a well-planned business strategy, it is not possible for a business to scale through problems smoothly, and it would equally be an uphill task to achieve success.

A foolproof business plan highlights varying aspects of a potential business and integrates few essential features like business objectives, possible growth rate and many other characteristics that your business will include and assimilate. How to promote investment capital will be illustrated broadly in a business plan.

There are various kinds of business plans and in this article we will outline the various business plans and tell you the function of each.

• Start-Up Business Plans

One of the very popular business plans in the world of business is the startup business plan. The startup business plans contain an exhaustive approach for starting and growing a business. It is different from all other business plans because of its nature and the details that are taken into consideration right from the inception of the business till the growth stage along with the vision of at least five years.

With this business plan, new businesses need to detail the steps they need to take while starting a business. This document typically includes sections describing the company, the product or service the business will supply, market evaluations and the intended 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. Startup business plans can equally be used by established companies to launch a new product line or to enter an entirely new business segment in the market. Conglomerates use this plan if they are launching a new business.

• It xrays the Business:  The startup business plan explains what a business is all about by describing the products or services in detail and what the ultimate goals of the business are. For example, your plan may stipulate what your revenue goals are for each of your first three years of operation. Your plan should also indicate why you believe there is a need for your business and who your main competitors will be.
• Helps in securing funding: It’s no secret that businesses can’t function without any operating capital to kick-start their production cycle. Entrepreneurs are often required to take loans from financial institutions to purchase property, get the equipment or hire manpower. Startup business plans would help them access funding speedily.
• Outlines Possible Weaknesses:   Startup business plans helps businesses to find out the weaknesses of the business in question. Highs and lows are a part of life and without them; we wouldn’t feel the need for improvement. A startup business plan helps you preempt the lows and maximize the highs.
• It provides an execution plan: Describing how your business will function and perform in the market is important when dealing with sponsors and investors. A startup business plan will explain your products and services, your targeted customers, the required funds and what’s necessary for your startup to thrive
• Internal Business Plans

As the name suggests the internal business plan is for internal stakeholders of the business. This type of business plan helps to evaluate projects which are specific and they keep the team up to speed about the current status of the company.

The company has more chances of success if everyone in the team is entirely on board, that is why the internal business plan is needed to keep everyone in the company on the same lane. It contains strategies and ways to improve the current business working and suggests a new pattern for growth.

• It answers questions pertaining to the internal workings of the company: Is the company growing or declining? Does the working pattern need change, improvement or modification? These are the type of questions which internal business plans answer. The primary purpose of the internal business plan is not to show the balance sheet of the financial position of the company to the external stakeholders but it is to run the business as smoothly as possible.
• It targets specific teams to streamline their functions: 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.
• 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. These types of plans typically skip the more detailed financial data and milestones because they are not important to the team at this point.

Strategic business plans also help to create internal efficiency so you can get the best results. The strategic business plan also comprises business vision, mission statement, strategies for achieving objectives, success factors and implementation schedules.

• They help in the execution of business strategies: Strategic business plans help to outline how the company will get to where it wants to go. They outline the strategy your team must carry out to achieve your goals, including your strengths, weaknesses and how you’re going to utilize your opportunities.
• To keep the company focused: The primary purpose of the strategic business plan is to carve the way to go ahead and answer the questions like What are you going to get and How do you intend to go about it. These answers are nothing but the strategy that the team must execute in order to achieve their targets.
• 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.

• Identify the target market of a business:  The feasibility business plan determines who will purchase the service or product of the company.
• To answer the ‘why’ question of a company: The feasibility business plan describes the need for a product or service including the target demographics and the financials required to start the business.
• 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. Operational business plans are typically very small because they are cut down to a year’s worth of information.

• It projects the business on a yearly basis: The operations business plan isn’t made to tell investors how you intend on turning a profit in the span of five years. It’s simply where you expect to be in 365 days. An annual plan can also be an internal plan (i.e., the strategy your employees intend to enact over the next year).
• It is used to scout for investors: The operations business plan can also be used to attract investors at the very beginning. Annual business plans are perfect for companies that expect to make big changes in the not-so-distant future. Investors love to see this.
• Growth Business Plans

Growth plans or expansion plans are in-depth descriptions of proposed business growth and are written for internal or external purposes. If company’s 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. If you’re looking for a hyper-focused business plan, this is it. Growth or expansion plans focus on a specific area within your business, like opening a new location or launching a certain product.

Growth business plans are internal and external facing. Internal growth plans are a lean version of a strategic business plan. You’ll use them if your company’s growth or expansion is being funded internally, such as if you’re launching a new product line from the last product line’s revenue. You already know what you’re funding, so you don’t need to deeply explain the product.

For an external or investor-facing growth plan, you’re going to need some different information. This type of plan assumes that the bank, investor or individual you’re pitching doesn’t know much about your business at all. You’ll need to look at it like you’re a startup and include additional details about your growth or expansion.

• Helps a company attract investors:  Growth plans are aimed at investors and banks so as to attract external investment. This plan usually include everything in a standard business plan. You need the financial data and projections, the market research and the funding request.
• It helps to analyse the business on a yearly basis: Growth plans are also termed as Annual Business plan and as the name suggests, the plan is for annual purposes. These types of business plans are more important to startups. This is because you only need a years’ worth of information to write it.
• It helps during the time of big changes in company: Growth plans are very helpful to companies that are trying to make monumental changes in a short time.
• The Lean Plan

Businesses use the Lean business plan to manage strategy, tactics, dates, milestones, activities, and cash flow. The Lean Plan is faster, easier, and more efficient than a formal business plan because it doesn’t include summaries, descriptions, and background details that you and your partners or employees already know. A Lean Plan includes specific deadlines and milestones, and the budgets allotted for meeting them.

• It is used to track milestones:  The lean business plan is most useful if you’re trying to grow your business and want to use it as a tool to track your financials and milestones against what you projected so you can respond to opportunity and react to challenges quickly.
• The standard business plan

You’ll need to put together a stand business plan if you have a business plan event, which is what it is called when a business needs to present a business plan to a bank, prospective investor, vendor, ally, partner, or employee.

The most standard business plan starts with an executive summary and includes sections or chapters covering the company, the product or service it sells, the target market, strategy and implementation milestones and goals, management team, and financial forecasting, and analysis. The exact order of topics is not important, but most people expect to see all of these topics covered as part of the standard plan.

Think of your Lean Plan as a good first draft of a standard plan. Those complete projections include the three essential financial projections (also called pro-forma statements): profit and loss, balance sheet, and cash flow. Every standard business plan needs sales plus these three essentials.

Functions 

• To analyze cash flow:  The cash flow is an essential part of a standard business plan. Businesses need cash to stay open. Even if a business can survive temporarily without profits, it still needs the cash to pay its bills. And since profits alone don’t guarantee cash in the bank, projected cash flow is essential.

Many standard plans also include a table for personnel spending. Some standard plans will need additional projections to meet the needs of the specific business plan event.

For example, plans for seeking outside investment should include a discussion of an eventual exit for investors, and of course the planned use of the invested funds. Plans supporting a bank loan application might include projected ratios the bank wants to see, such as debt to equity, quick, or current ratios.

• One-page business plan

A one-page business plan is typically a one-page summary of the business, and it includes highlights only. This business plan is used to offer a very quick overview of a business.

• To provide a quick business summary: The one-page business plan summarizes the target market, business offering, main milestones, and essential sales forecast of a business in a single page. Such a summary can be useful as a summary for banks, potential investors, vendors, allies, and employees. A one-page business plan can also be called a business pitch.
• The Miniplan

The miniplan is a sort of abridged version of the normal business plan. This business plan is preferred by many recipients because they can read it, or download it quickly to read later on their iPhone or tablet. You include most of the same ingredients that you would in a longer plan, but you cut to the highlights while telling the same story.

• It provides a quick overview of the business for investors:  The miniplan provides a quick summary of the business or company for someone who may not have the time to go through the longer version.
• The Presentation Plan

The advent of PowerPoint presentations changed the way many, if not most, plans are presented. And while the plan is shorter than its predecessors, it’s not necessarily easier to present. Many people lose sleep over an upcoming presentation, especially one that can play a vital role in the future of their business. But presenting your plan as a deck can be very powerful.

Readers of a plan can’t always capture your passion for the business nor can they ask questions when you finish. But in 20 minutes, you can cover all the key points and tell your story from concept and mission statement through financial forecasts.

• It helps to present the company in a detailed format to an audience: The presentation plan helps to present the company in a concise to a listening audience. In 20 minutes, you can cover all the key points and tell the story of your organisation from concept and mission statement through to financial forecasts.
• The Working Plan

A working plan is a tool to be used to operate your business. It is usually long on detail but may be short on presentation. As with a miniplan, you can probably use a somewhat higher degree of informality when preparing a working plan. It is there to work for your company and provide the required guide.

The plan is usually intended strictly for internal use, and so you can omit some elements that you need not explain to yourself and your team. Likewise, you probably don’t need to include an appendix with resumes of key executives. Nor would a working plan especially benefit from product photos.

• It provides guidelines for the day to day running of the business: The working plan is like an old pair of slacks you wear to the office on Saturdays. It’s there to be used, not admired. It provides pointers on how things are to be done in the company.
• The What-If Plan

When you face unusual circumstances, you need something a bit different from your usual working plan. For example, you might want to prepare a contingency plan when you’re seeking bank financing.

A contingency plan is a plan based on the worst-case scenario that you can imagine your business surviving—loss of market share, heavy price competition, defection of a key member of your management team. A contingency plan can soothe the fears of a banker or investor by demonstrating that you have indeed considered more than a rosy scenario.

Your business may be considering an acquisition, in which case a pro forma business plan (some call this a what-if plan) can help you understand what the acquisition is worth and how it might affect your core business. What if you raise prices, invest in staff training and reduce duplicative efforts?

Such what-if planning doesn’t have to be as formal as a presentation plan. Perhaps you want to mull over the chances of a major expansion. A what-if plan can help you spot the increased needs for space, equipment, personnel and other variables so you can make good decisions.

• It helps in analyzing various business scenarios, good or bad: If a company wants to make sudden changes, a what-if business plan is used to analyse the changes properly so the company knows what it is getting itself into.
• They provide insight: This business plan provides insight into the decisions companies makes at every point in their existence. What sets these kinds of plans apart from the working and presentation plans is that they aren’t necessarily describing how you’ll run the business. They’re essentially more like an addendum to your actual business plan.
• It helps the company make good decisions: A “what if” plan helps a company consider major changes that affect the core of the business, so they can make good decisions. It’s the plan you should consider before you consider any expansion or growth plan.

14. Development Business Plan

Development plans or extension plans are top to bottom depictions of proposed business development and they are composed to display inward or outside purposes of a business. A development policy incorporates overall details of the organization, its administration and responsibility the personnel share among themselves.

The policy must show the organization detail and emphasize the elements required to fulfill potential speculators. If in case the development plan requires no capital, the plan composers may pass by those organization portrayals, but will surely incorporate money related deals and cost projections.

• It is used in detailed industry analysis: A development policy incorporates overall details of the organization, its administration and responsibility the personnel share among themselves.

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The Different Types of Business Plans

Free Business Plan Template

Ayush Jalan

• December 14, 2023

A business plan is a blueprint for your business. No matter if you’re running a startup or a well-established company, every entrepreneur needs to create a business plan . It helps you have a clear idea of your goals, and objectives, the execution of your strategies, and tracking progress.

Business plans come in all shapes and sizes.

You can create a plan based on your unique requirements and goals. Often, businesses require different types of plans for different situations and to tackle different problems. Having just one standard business plan is not enough.

A meticulously crafted business plan will efficiently serve its intended purpose . In fact, business plans are categorized based on the type of audience, the scope of the plan, and the purpose and format of the plan.

Understanding the basics of each type will help you pick out the right one for your business requirements. In this article, you will learn the different types of business plans and when and where they are used.

Based on Audience

Business plans are broadly categorized into two types based on the type of audience. They are:

• 1. Internal business plans: As the name suggests, an internal business plan is solely for the people inside the company. These can be specific to certain departments such as marketing, HR, production, etc. Internal business plans focus primarily on the company’s goals, and the personnel and processes aimed to achieve them.
• 2. External business plans: On the contrary, external business plans are intended for people outside the company, such as investors, banks, partners, etc. These plans usually contain detailed information about the company’s background, finances, and overall operation of the business.

Based on the Scope

Similarly, business plans are classified into two types based on their size and the depth of information they encompass. They are:

1. Standard business plans

A standard business plan is a bulky document that contains every detail of the company. Most external plans slide into this category as they often need to be detailed for presentation to people outside the company.

A standard business plan contains these sections:

• Executive summary
• Company Overview
• Problem analysis
• Market analysis
• Customer analysis
• Competitive analysis
• SWOT analysis
• Marketing Plan
• Operations plan
• Management team
• Finances plan
• Supporting documentation

A standard plan is usually presented to banks and any potential investors as it provides a complete view of the company, and future financial projections , and helps attain funding. But oftentimes, drafting a traditional business plan can be a tedious task as it takes a lot of time and effort.

2. Lean business plans

A lean plan is a condensed version of the standard business plan. It includes the highlights of a standard business plan and summaries of all the sections. It is a compact document that emphasizes achieving milestones and tracking finances.

Drafting a lean business plan is easier, faster, and is considered to be more efficient compared to a standard plan. It is flexible and can be revised effortlessly as many times as needed, which provides room for adjusting milestones, and improvising.

A lean business plan is apt for situations where you are uncertain about the process of creating a business plan, and it can be the essential first draft for your business. Everything in a lean business plan should be concise and represented in bullet points or short texts.

These are the elements that a lean business plan focuses on:

Based on purpose and format.

Business plans are further classified based on their purpose and format into seven types, they are:

1. One-page business plans

A one-page business plan can be described as an outline of a lean business plan . It is also called a business pitch or a quick summary. It is sometimes used to present a quick overview of your business to your vendors, partners, and employees and as a summary to banks and investors.

This encapsulates all the essential parts of a business plan on a single page. This summarizes the target market, business offering, main milestones, and essential sales forecast.

2. Startup business plans

A startup business plan can be defined as a lean plan with elements of a standard plan included to seek investors. The primary purpose of a startup plan is to put forth the steps required to get a business up and running. Later on, it should also serve as a plan that will help score investment.

The steps of establishing a new company include acquiring licenses and permits, setting up an office or store, getting equipment, and hiring and managing employees. All of these should be included in the startup business plan.

A startup plan should include information about the company, its products, and services, a detailed analysis of the industry, market, competition, SWOT, the bios of management, their responsibilities and roles, complete financial details and analysis, and projections of the usage of funding.

3. Strategic business plans

A strategic business plan is a lean business plan that contains details of the strategies and their implementation to achieve the goals and objectives of a company. These are internal plans that will focus entirely on the strategies with almost no inclusion of finances.

Conduct SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats) analysis to begin an effective strategic business plan. This will help you better understand the factors that play a role in the decision-making process of a business.

A SWOT analysis will help you decide the strategies that will best suit your company and accomplish the goals, utilizing the available resources. Every strategic plan should contain these five elements:

• Mission statement
• Vision statement
• Factors that determine success
• Strategies to achieve goals
• Implementation process

4. Feasibility business plans

You require a feasible plan in case the business is stepping into a new market or introducing a new product or service. It is more a decision-making plan than a business plan as it focuses on two primary concerns:

• Determining the existence of a market
• Determining the profits of the initiative

A feasibility plan is a quick analysis of the practicality of a business idea.

This type of business plan usually excludes all the other sections and solely focuses on the scope of the initiative, its profitability, analysis of the market and competition, and acquiring the funding for it.

It is mostly crafted for internal management and ends with recommendations on whether the decision of entering a new market or introducing a new product or service is viable or not.

5. Operational business plans

An operational plan is a type of lean plan that focuses on the implementation process, achieving milestones, project deadlines, and the responsibilities of management, departments, and employees. It also focuses on the funding required to accomplish the milestones.

This business plan is called an annual plan, as businesses often use it to plan and specify milestones and their implementation for the coming year.

Some of the key elements every operational plan should contain are:

• Objectives for the operations
• Activities required to achieve objectives
• Resources required
• Staffing requirements
• Deadlines for implementation
• Tracking progress

6. Growth business plans

Draft a growth business plan when a company looks to expand its business into new markets. It is essentially a startup plan for a new segment of your business. This is also known as an expansion plan as it focuses on the long-term goals of a business.

This business plan can be both external and internal.

An external growth plan includes complete financial details and a funding request. On the other hand, an internal one contains details of the forecast of sales and expenses of the upcoming venture.

7. What-if business plan

Use a what-if plan when a business is taking a risky decision and needs a plan if the outcome turns unfavorable. This plan is usually less formal unless a funding request is included.

It entails a contingency plan that considers the worst-case scenarios.

This plan provides a glimpse into the possible outcomes of taking that risky decision and its effects on the company. It makes sense when taking a major business decision, merging with another company, raising the prices of products, etc. These are all the different types of business plans from which you can hand-pick the best fit for your company.

A Plan for Every Priority

Planning is essential for every business, without one a business is not likely to sustain itself in the long run. Although daunting sometimes, choosing the right plan for your business requirement can help you achieve your goals faster and with smart use of resources.

Every situation needs a unique approach to tackle effectively. Fortunately, there’s a plan for every purpose to help your business stand the test of time. Feel free to pick one that suits your business the best. Make sure to update it regularly.

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About the Author

Ayush is a writer with an academic background in business and marketing. Being a tech-enthusiast, he likes to keep a sharp eye on the latest tech gadgets and innovations. When he's not working, you can find him writing poetry, gaming, playing the ukulele, catching up with friends, and indulging in creative philosophies.

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What Are the Six Elements of a Business Plan?

What are the benefits of a business plan, examples of business feasibility reports.

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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.

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.

• Entrepreneur: The 4 Types of Business Plans
• YourBusinessPal.com: Business Plan Example
• BPlans.com: Free Sample Business Plans

Alyson Paige has a master's degree in canon law and began writing professionally in 1998. Her articles specialize in culture, business and home and garden, among many other topics.

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The 4 Types of Business Plans Learn which of these four business plan formats best fits your needs.

By The Staff of Entrepreneur Media, Inc. • Dec 4, 2014

In their book Write Your Business Plan , the staff of Entrepreneur Media offer an in-depth understanding of what's essential to any business plan, what's appropriate for your venture, and what it takes to ensure success. In this edited excerpt, the authors describe four different types of plans you could write and what you'd use each one for.

Business plans can be divided roughly into four distinct types. There are very short plans, or miniplans, presentation plans or decks, working plans, and what-if plans. They each require very different amounts of labor and not always with proportionately different results. That is to say, a more elaborate plan isn't guaranteed to be superior to an abbreviated one. Success depends on various factors and whether the right plan is used in the right setting. For example, a new hire may not want to read the same, elaborate version of your plan that might be important to a potential investor.

The Miniplan

The miniplan is preferred by many recipients because they can read it or download it quickly to read later on their iPhone or tablet. You include most of the same ingredients that you would in a longer plan, but you cut to the highlights while telling the same story. For a small-business venture, it's typically all that you need. For a more complex business, you may need the longer version.

The Presentation Plan

The advent of PowerPoint presentations changed the way many, if not most, plans are presented. And while the plan is shorter than its predecessors, it's not necessarily easier to present. Many people lose sleep over an upcoming presentation, especially one that can play a vital role in the future of their business. But presenting your plan as a deck can be very powerful. Readers of a plan can't always capture your passion for the business nor can they ask questions when you finish. But in 20 minutes, you can cover all the key points and tell your story from concept and mission statement through financial forecasts.

Remember to keep your graphics uncluttered and to make comments to accentuate your ideas rather than simply reading what's in front of your audience.

While a presentation plan is concise, don't be fooled: It takes plenty of planning. The pertinent questions who, what, where, why, when and how all need to be answered.

The Working Plan

A working plan is a tool to be used to operate your business. It has to be long on detail but may be short on presentation. As with a miniplan, you can probably can afford a somewhat higher degree of candor and informality when preparing a working plan. In a plan you intend to present to a bank loan committee, you might describe a rival as "competing primarily on a price basis." In a working plan, your comment about the same competitor might be "When is Jones ever going to stop this insane price-cutting?"

A plan intended strictly for internal use may also omit some elements that you need not explain to yourself. Likewise, you probably don't need to include an appendix with resumes of key executives. Nor would a working plan especially benefit from product photos.

Internal policy considerations may guide the decision about whether to include or exclude certain information in a working plan. Many entrepreneurs are sensitive about employees knowing the precise salary the owner takes home from the business. To the extent such information can be left out of a working plan without compromising its utility, you can feel free to protect your privacy.

This document is like an old pair of khakis you wear to the office on Saturdays or that one ancient delivery truck that never seems to break down. It's there to be used, not admired.

The What-If Plan

When you face unusual circumstances, you need a variant on the working plan. For example, you might want to prepare a contingency plan when you're seeking bank financing. A contingency plan is a plan based on the worst-case scenario that you can imagine your business surviving—loss of market share, heavy price competition, defection of a key member of your management team. A contingency plan can soothe the fears of a banker or investor by demonstrating that you have indeed considered more than a rosy scenario.

Your business may be considering an acquisition, in which case a pro forma business plan (some call this a what-if plan) can help you understand what the acquisition is worth and how it might affect your core business. What if you raise prices, invest in staff training and reduce duplicative efforts? Such what-if planning doesn't have to be as formal as a presentation plan. Perhaps you want to mull over the chances of a major expansion. A what-if plan can help you spot the increased needs for space, equipment, personnel and other variables so you can make good decisions.

What sets these kinds of plans apart from the working and presentation plans is that they aren't necessarily describing how you'll run the business. They're essentially more like an addendum to your actual business plan. If you decide to acquire that competitor or grow dramatically, you'll want to incorporate some of the thinking already invested in these special purpose plans into your primary business plan.

Entrepreneur Staff

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10 Types of Business Plan

A business plan is a written description of your business's future, a document that tells what you plan to do and how you plan to do it. The importance of a business plan needs no explanation. Just like textbooks for the basis for education, a business plan forms the crux of a company or organization. Good business plans should include an executive summary, products and services, financial planning, marketing strategy and analysis, financial planning, and a budget. There are varying kinds of business plans.

"All you need is the plan, the road map, and the courage to press on to your destination" - Earl Nightingale, American Author

Ten Types of Business Plans

• Standard Business Plan
• Growth Business Plan
• Lean Business Plan
• Internal Business Plan
• Operations Business Plan
• Feasibility Business Plan
• One Page Business Plan
• Strategic Business Plan
• Contingency Business Plan
• Startup Business Plan

This one really follows the textbook approach, starting with a summary and comprising of sections covering topics such as implementation details, mission and vision, financial stats and target audience. This kind of document is usually comprehensible to all kinds of parties—explaining your business to product vendors, VCs and investors , finance firms or even the fellow team members. The plus point of the standard format is that it describes expenditure in detail, along with information about the profit and loss, cash flow and the projected balance sheet.

A plan that is growth oriented generally has for essential parts: The proposed strategy , execution mechanism, parameters and metrics to aid in assessment, and the necessary statistics and numbers. When it comes to strategy, a good one can exemplify the entire journey and a flawed one can make simple tasks difficult. A well-crafted strategy takes into consideration the proposed solution to the identified problem, the target audience and how to approach them.

The execution plan outlines the methodology to implement the strategy, elaborating on each step of the process by covering the what, why and how of that step. The third component i.e. metrics, are imperative to measure the current performance against the ideal benchmarks. Finally, presenting a business plan void of statistics and charts/tables doesn’t do much. Convincing investors of the projected growth requires compelling numbers!

A streamlined plan that doesn’t delve into in-depth descriptions, the lean business plan is an optimized version of a standard business plan. Sharing a few similarities with growth oriented plan, this kind of setup has the following components

• Strategy: What the venture wants to accomplish and how it shall do the same comes under ‘strategy’ phase. Working on the lines of a sound strategy saves the management from unnecessary waste of efforts and time.
• Tactics: Synonymous with strategies, tactics allow the creation of measures that allow the desired strategy to result in maximum efficiency.
• Assumptions, metrics and schedule: Assumptions without backing are meaningless. And backing comes through the use of established milestones and metrics. Furthermore, to ensure that things go as planned, it’s imperative to follow the right schedule.
• Forecast: Financial forecast that is of sales, revenue and expenditures, need not be 100% accurate. But making basic predictions plays a pivotal role in bringing credibility to the business plan.
• Run, review and revise: In case a pitch deck event is coming up, add a few details like marketing tactics, publicity measures, and summary to the plan formulated and you are good to go. Otherwise, spend time in reviewing the draft, undertaking mock presentations, and eliminating the identified defects. This should be carried out as a cycle, being repeated periodically.

These are similar to a lean plan, taking cues from it. But these are meant for dispatching within the organization itself. Such business plans aren’t prepared for presenting to investors or any other external entity. It’s specific to the employees of the organization.

Meant for elaborating on the annual operations of a company, this plan mentions the deadlines and requirements that need to be achieved for the financial year. It also highlights KPIs and KPAs for employee evaluation, along with milestones that need to be hit.

As the name suggests, the feasibility plan determines whether the proposed product or service would fly high or tank before launching. This plan also determines the potential investors, intended demographics, and recommendations to actually get the business going.

A pitch deck is supposed to be short and concise. And that’s what one page business plan seek to achieve. It delineates the milestones, objectives and important numerical data such that the entire summarized information fits within a page. These can be highly effective, just like pamphlets.

Based on an internal plan, the strategic plan overlooks financial description and focuses more on the strategy and tactics that’re going to be employed in order to realize the objectives. Hence, it is elaborate and contains extensive details, something not delved in much depth in case of one page plans or internal plans.

Taking care of what-if situations is essential when dealing with a business setup. The probability of bailing out is high, just like the chance of succeeding with the idea. Contingency plan details the alternate course of action if the primary strategy fails.

Often seen as a version of lean plan, the startup plan is designed while keeping emerging companies in mind. These are intended to entice VCs and investors, and are the building blocks for the business to flourish.

What is a business plan?

A business plan is a written document that describes in detail how a business usually a startup defines its objectives and how it is to go about achieving its goals. A business plan lays out a written roadmap for the firm from marketing, financial, and operational standpoints.

How to write a business plan?

Steps to write a business plan:-

• Begin the Plan with a Summary
• Describe Your Company — Its Business, Goals and Objectives
• Analyze Your Market and Determine Your Marketing Strategy
• Describe Your Product/Service and How They are Produced
• Describe Your Management Organization

What are the different types of plans?

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• Starting a business

The three types of business plans for most industries

Business plans are a crucial component in the success of any business, but different industries require different models. When deciding upon which plan is best for your company, you should consider what type of industry you’re in and your goals.

Three types of business plans

Wrapping up.

You should also understand that business plans can go by different names. Some have different names but are essentially the same thing, while others genuinely are different in terms of content. You might see operational plans, Lean plans, Strategic plans, internal plans, and more.

The truth is that the kind of business plan you should put together depends on the situation. Form follows function. The best business plans match the use for which they are intended. In the article below, we’ll list three different business plan models used by many companies today.

The following is a list of business plans used commonly in most industries today.

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Startup plan

According to the Startup Genome Report , most startups fail. In many instances, that failure is due to a lack of market understanding, no clear vision, and little planning. A startup business plan is intended to provide a roadmap that can help entrepreneurs steer clear of the mistakes that lead to failure.

For example, a startup plan focuses on funding, market size analysis, team building strategy, or product development strategy. Indeed, these are all critical aspects for success when starting a business.

Additionally, a startup plan usually operates as the very first plan an entrepreneur develops to give to investors in order to gain funding and to show how the business intends to grow. If you’re just starting out, your plan should include the following elements and structure:

• Executive summary
• Overview of the company
• Management background
• What service or product the company provides
• Value proposition
• Strategic marketing plan
• Market evaluations
• Projected startup costs
• Cash flow projections and income and profit expectations

Inside the financial section, you should also explain your exit strategy and how you plan to use any money that you raise from investors.

Strategic plan

In general, you’ll use a strategic business plan for internal purposes only. It’s not a document that you’ll be showing to investors or anyone outside of your company. You’ll need to create a document that acts as a foundational plan for your whole organization in this plan.

Standard practices when creating this type of plan include assessing the strengths and weaknesses of your company. Therefore, using a SWOT analysis when putting the plan together is a smart move. SWOT is an acronym. It stands for strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. It gives you and executives in your company a broad awareness of various factors that could impact your business.

Typically, a strategic plan will also include an outline with defined milestones and a path leading to specific company goals. There should also be a deadline to reach those goals. Remember that a strategic plan is different from just a business plan at the end of the day. A strategic business plan will focus on your company’s ultimate goals and how you’re going to get there.

Your strategic business plan ought to include the following elements and structure:

• Company mission statement
• Company vision
• Key factors for company success
• Strategies to meet goals
• Implementation deadline

Operations plan

This is a different type of business plan, but it’s still essential. An operations plan will outline the day-to-day resources and activities that are needed to run your company efficiently. It should take into account what needs to be done and when.

It can also help you anticipate any problems that may arise by anticipating common issues before they happen. This way, you’ll have time to come up with solutions or get in contact with someone who can help if anything goes wrong. You’ll want an operations plan so you’re prepared for things like slow periods where product orders might not meet expectations, or to know how many products need different types of maintenance during different times of the year because temperature changes affect them differently (think winter coats).

Your operations plan should include the following elements and structure:

• Organization objectives
• Activities required to complete objectives
• Resources needed for activities
• Staffing requirements
• Implementation deadlines
• Progress tracking processes

The different types of business plans are how companies present their long-term vision, management strategy, and goals for the future. The type of plan you put together is dependent on your industry – but as we’ve discussed, there are always a few core elements to all typical business plan models. These include an organization’s objectives, activities required to complete these objectives; resources needed for those activities; staff requirements (including skillsets); implementation deadlines & progress tracking processes.

Hopefully, this article has provided some new insight into how different business plans are used to produce and guide successful businesses.

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• Business plans

Everyone loves pizza, and so do you. That is why you want to do your local pizza bar that everyone will enjoy. You love to see the joy come across people's faces as you give them your homemade pizza. You also enjoy mixing drinks as part of your hobby, so have an idea of a bar and a pizza place where people can come to hang out with friends. You want to have a space that gives people happiness. You want to be the place where celebrations and events will be taken place. You want to enjoy having your place.

The items listed above will introduce a great start for your career. You get to share your delicious homemade pizza with your customers. You want to have a comfortable environment where you can introduce live music and cheer. Your business will continue to flourish with ease as not only a bar but a place where people can go with their friends, family, and their partners. You will be the place where the night is young with a lighted area where customers can sit outdoors. All you need is ideas, your recipe, and the supplies that you need to start your business.

Are you a person who just got a business degree? Do you want to start a business that helps others feel at home? You like to sell things that people need to make their homes clean and decorative. You know that homes reflect the owners' personality, and you want to give new homeowners the chance to decorate their new homes. To start helping others, you must decorate your building with home goods, knickknacks, and supplies. You know what customers are looking for and where they could get it, which is when your business comes in to give homeowners the supplies they need for their new home.

The items listed above are not only items you will sell but the items that you need to start your career off on the right track. You questioned how to start your business with an idea. The first idea is to organize and clean the building that will be the place for your business. You will also be selling items that homeowners need and that you will be using for your new business. You do not have to worry about starting your business blindly, some simple tasks and items will guide you to your journey to a successful career. You will be able to enjoy your first local business.

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You suddenly have a fun idea to show off your creative coffee and tea recipes. Why not start a coffee and tea shop? Coffee and tea shops are popular during modern times. People enjoy a nice cup of coffee or tea to start their day. You might even want to start with your food recipes and share them with the world. You do not have to worry about starting your coffee and tea business without any items. You can enjoy decorating and getting the items that you need to start your new business. You get to enjoy your wonderful coffee shop.

Your coffee and tea shop will start with a positive path to success. You get to choose and create your menu with the food you love to create. Your customers will enjoy your positive energy, and they will never want to leave. You will have that delicious scent of coffee and tea that your customers will not resist. You will host events such as poetry readings, musicians, and artists to promote your business. You will also help local artists succeed as they will help you succeed in your local business. You will enjoy your coffee shop and the career path that you have chosen.

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What Is a Business?

Understanding a business, the bottom line, what is a business understanding different types and company sizes.

Read about types of businesses, how to start one, and how to get a business loan

Adam Hayes, Ph.D., CFA, is a financial writer with 15+ years Wall Street experience as a derivatives trader. Besides his extensive derivative trading expertise, Adam is an expert in economics and behavioral finance. Adam received his master's in economics from The New School for Social Research and his Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in sociology. He is a CFA charterholder as well as holding FINRA Series 7, 55 & 63 licenses. He currently researches and teaches economic sociology and the social studies of finance at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem.

The term business refers to an organization or enterprising entity engaged in commercial, industrial, or professional activities. The purpose of a business is to organize some sort of economic production of goods or services. Businesses can be for-profit entities or non-profit organizations fulfilling a charitable mission or furthering a social cause. Businesses range in scale and scope from sole proprietorships to large, international corporations.

The term business also refers to the efforts and activities undertaken by individuals to produce and sell goods and services for profit.

Key Takeaways

• A business is defined as an organization or enterprising entity engaged in commercial, industrial, or professional activities.
• Businesses can be for-profit entities or non-profit organizations.
• Business types range from limited liability companies to sole proprietorships, corporations, and partnerships.
• Some businesses run as small operations in a single industry while others are large operations that spread across many industries around the world.
• Apple and Walmart are two examples of well-known, successful businesses.

Alex Dos Diaz / Investopedia

The term business often refers to an entity that operates for commercial, industrial, or professional reasons. The concept begins with an idea and a name, and extensive market research may be required to determine how feasible it is to turn the idea into a business.

Businesses often require business plans before operations begin. A business plan is a formal document that outlines the company's goals and objectives and lists the strategies and plans to achieve these goals and objectives. Business plans are essential when you want to borrow capital to begin operations.

Determining the legal structure of the business is an important factor to consider, since business owners may need to secure permits and licenses and follow registration requirements to begin legal operations. Corporations are considered to be juridical persons in many countries, meaning that the business can own property, take on debt , and be sued in court.

A good name is often one of the most valuable assets of a business, so it's important that business owners choose their name wisely.

Most businesses operate to generate a profit , commonly called for-profit. However, some businesses that have a goal to advance a certain cause without profit are referred to as not-for-profit or nonprofit. These entities may operate as charities , arts, culture, educational, and recreational enterprises, political and advocacy groups, or social services organizations.

Business activities often include the sale and purchase of goods and services. Business activity can take place anywhere, whether that's in a physical storefront, online, or on the roadside. Anyone who conducts business activity with financial earnings must report this income to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) .

A company often defines its business by the industry in which it operates. For example, the real estate business, advertising business, or mattress production business are examples of industries. Business is a term often used to indicate transactions regarding an underlying product or service. For example, ExxonMobil conducts its business by providing oil.

Types of Businesses

There are many ways to organize a business, and there are various legal and tax structures that correspond with each. Businesses are commonly classified and generally structured as:

• Sole Proprietorship : As the name suggests, a sole proprietorship is owned and operated by a single person. There is no legal separation between the business and the owner, which means the tax and legal liabilities of the business are the responsibility of the owner.
• Partnership : A partnership is a business relationship between two or more people who together conduct business. Each partner contributes resources and money to the business and shares in the profits and losses of the business. The shared profits and losses are recorded on each partner's tax return.
• Corporation : A corporation is a business in which a group of people acts as a single entity. Owners are commonly referred to as shareholders who exchange consideration for the corporation's common stock . Incorporating a business releases owners of the financial liability of business obligations. A corporation comes with unfavorable taxation rules for the owners of the business.
• Limited Liability Company (LLC) : This is a relatively new business structure and was first available in Wyoming in 1977 and in other states in the 1990s. A limited liability company combines the pass-through taxation benefits of a partnership with the limited liability benefits of a corporation.

Business Sizes

Small businesses.

Small owner-operated companies are called small businesses . Commonly managed by one person or a small group of people with less than 100 employees, these companies include family restaurants, home-based companies, clothing, books, and publishing companies, and small manufacturers. As of 2021, 33.2 million small businesses in the United States with 61.7 million employees were operating.

The Small Business Administration (SBA) uses the number of employees working at a company and its annual revenue to formally define a small business. For 229 industry sectors, from engineering and manufacturing to food service and real estate, the SBA sets sizing standards every five years.

Businesses that meet the standards of the SBA can qualify for loans, grants, and "small business set-asides," contracts where the federal government limits competition to help small businesses compete for and win federal contracts.

Mid-Sized Enterprises

There is no definitive specification in the U.S. to define a mid-sized or medium-sized company. However, when large U.S. cities such as Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Boston evaluate the landscape of operating businesses, a medium-sized company is defined as one with 100 to 249 employees or $10 million to less than $1 billion in annual gross sales .

Large Businesses

Large businesses commonly have 250 or more employees and garner more than $1 billion in gross receipts. They may issue corporate stock to finance operations as a publicly-traded company.

Large enterprises may be based in one country with international operations. They are often organized by departments, such as human resources, finance, marketing, sales, and research and development.

Unlike small and mid-sized enterprises, owned by a person or group of people, large organizations often separate their tax burden from their owners, who usually do not manage their companies but instead, an elected board of directors enacts most business decisions.

Examples of Well-Known Businesses

Apple ( AAPL ) is known for its innovative products, including its personal computers, smart devices, and music and video streaming services. Founded in 1977 by Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak, Apple became the first publicly-traded company whose value hit $1 trillion. The company's stock ended the trading day at about $172 on May 23, 2023. Its market cap was almost $2.7 billion.

The company employs more than two million people, including 80,000 individuals who work as direct Apple employees. The remaining jobs include suppliers, manufacturers, and others who are supported through the Apple store . The company reported net sales of $394.33 billion for the 12 months ending Sept. 24, 2022.

Apple's key to success lies in its family of products and its ability to innovate. The company focuses on design and quality—two key elements that were a key part of Jobs' corporate vision. The products that Apple creates and markets can be used under the same operating system, which allows consumers to sync them together, thus lowering corporate costs. Apple's ability to create, develop, and market new products and services also put it ahead of its competition.

Walmart ( WMT ) is one of the world's largest retailers and operates as a multinational corporation . The company was founded in 1962 by Sam Walton in Arkansas. It has more than 10,500 locations in more than 20 different countries and employs over 2.1 million people.

The company went public in 1970 and trades on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) . Walmart stock traded above $148 with a market cap of $399.79 billion on May 23, 2023. The company earned $611.3 billion in revenue for the full year of 2022, which is an increase of 6.7% from the previous fiscal year .

Walmart's success can be attributed to several factors, including its brand name, pricing, diversification (especially with the addition of its online marketplace), efficient supply chain management , and its financial strength.

How Do You Start a Business?

There are several steps you need to hurdle to start a business . This includes conducting market research, developing a business plan, seeking capital or other forms of funding, choosing a location and business structure, picking the right name, submitting registration paperwork, obtaining tax documents (employer and taxpayer IDs), and pulling permits and licenses. It's also a good idea to set up a bank account with a financial institution to facilitate your everyday banking needs.

How Do You Launch an Online Business?

Starting an online business involves some of the same steps as a traditional business, with a few exceptions.

You still need to do your market research and develop a business plan before anything else. Once that's done, choose a name and structure for your business, then file any paperwork to register your organization.

Rather than finding a physical location, choose a platform and design your website. Before launching your business, you should find a way to build up your target market, whether that's through traditional marketing means or more creative ways like social media.

How Do You Come Up With a Business Name?

Your business name should fit the type of organization you plan to run and it should be catchy—something that people will gravitate toward and remember, not to mention associate with you as well as the products and services you plan to sell. Originality is key. And most importantly, it should be a name that isn't already in use by someone else. Go online and do a business name search to see if it's available or already registered.

How Do You Write a Business Plan?

Business plans are essential to running your business and can help you secure the funding you need to start your operations. You can choose between a traditional or lean plan.

A traditional business plan has a lot of details, including a summary of the company, how it plans to succeed, market information, management, products and services, marketing, and sales projections.

Lean formats are concise with very useful information such as partnership details, outlines of the business activities and customer relationships, cost structures, and revenue streams.

Templates are available online or you can design your own business plan.

How Do You Get a Business Loan?

Necessary funding for a business often comes via a loan. A traditional lender or a government-backed loan, such as those offered through the Small Business Administration are two options. Prospective lenders want to see business details, especially for new start-ups . Make sure you have your business plan ready, including outlines of costs and revenue streams, and ensure you have a good credit score. You may need to put down some collateral to secure the loan if you're approved.

Businesses are the backbone of an economy. They provide products and services that can be purchased by individuals and other companies.

Businesses range in size from small to large and operate in many different industries. Business structures also vary from sole partnerships to major corporations that provide shareholder equity to their owners.

When starting a business, do your research and develop a business plan. This allows you to raise the money you need to start your operation.

U.S. Small Business Administration. " 10 Steps To Start Your Business ."

Cornell Law School Legal Information Institute. " Corporations ."

U.S. Small Business Administration. " Choose Your Business Name ."

U.S. Chamber of Commerce. " Choosing the Right Nonprofit Type: Which Is Right for Your Business? "

Internal Revenue Service. " Tax Information for Businesses ."

Internal Revenue Service. " Sole Proprietorships ."

Cornell Law School Legal Information Institute. " Partnership ."

Wyoming LLC. " The Complete History of the LLC ."

Indeed. " Business Sizes ."

Small Business Administration. " 2022 Small. Business Profile ," Page 1.

Marketplace. " The SBA Is Changing Its Definition of Small Business ."

Small Business Administration. " Types of Contracts ."

OECD. " Enterprises by business size ."

Indeed. " Midsize Companies: What They Are and Why They’re Beneficial ."

CNBC. " Apple Hangs Onto Its Historic $1 Trillion Market Cap ."

Apple. " Two Million U.S. Jobs and Counting ."

Apple. " CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS (Unaudited) ," Page 1.

Apple. " Apple Makes Business Better ."

Walmart. " Company Facts ."

Walmart. " Our Business ."

Walmart. " Walmart revenue up 7.3% globally with broad-based strength across segments ," Page 1.

U.S. Small Business Administration. " Write Your Business Plan ."

U.S. Small Business Administration. " Loans ."

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I thought having my own office meant I'd 'arrived,' but it was depressing. Here's why open-plan office layouts are best.

• Jennifer Moore has worked in financial services, tech, and SaaS for 20 years. 
• During that time, she's worked in cubicles, open plan offices, and has had her own office spaces.
• The open plan concept is her winner due to the natural light and varying spaces for work. 

This as-told-to essay is based on a transcribed conversation with Jennifer Moore, 43, from Salt Lake City, about her experience working in different office spaces. The following has been edited for length and clarity.

I was a summer intern with a small desk in a hallway when my career began in 2003.

There was another intern who had her own cubicle with high walls that kind of looked like a mini office. I really loved my makeshift workspace, but I'll be honest — I was jealous. It was like I was an afterthought.

I've spent 10 years in financial services , where I worked in everything from high-walled cubicles to open office floor plans to eventually having my very own office. I also spent 10 years in B2B tech and software-as-a-service companies , where there's nothing but open office plans.

Cubicles are good for deep work and privacy, but they can be isolating

I've found that the true cube farm — with four high walls and a doorway — can be really helpful for deep work and conducting short one-on-ones.

I think privacy is another pro. In 2006, when I was working at Wells Fargo , I received an email telling me someone I was very close to in high school had died. I remember having a very loud reaction. My co-workers heard me but didn't necessarily see me burst into tears. It was a blessing to have a bit more privacy at that moment.

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The cons of cubicles is that they were somewhat isolating. There was no sunlight. The executives and leaders all got these fantastic offices that had windows, so you could tell immediately who the head honchos were.

Having my own office was depressing and soul-crushing

Having your own office is associated with prestige and privacy, but my first experience of this was horrible.

In 2015, I thought I had arrived. I had officially made it into product management at a financial services company and was given my very own office with a door. I had a furniture budget and everything, but I was absolutely miserable.

There was no natural light, only dim fluorescent lights, so I'd try to get out in the sunlight every day. There wasn't any foot traffic passing by my area because it was in a weird corner. It was isolating — I could go an entire day and not see or talk to a soul if I wanted to.

It was really depressing and soul-crushing.

One thing I would say is, at the time, I was doing some physical therapy, and it was really nice to be able to shut the door and close the shade on my tiny window so I could do stretches in complete privacy.

I learned that the overall workplace environment is more important to me than whether I had achieved having my own office.

You can say you believe in teamwork and collaboration but if you haven't designed an office space that encourages this, people are going to struggle to embrace it daily.

I think open-office plans are the clear winner, as they allow for different types of work

After I left my previous company in December 2023, I decided to focus full-time on my own consulting business.

I work in a coworking space for a company I consult for. It has an open floor plan with several conference rooms, telephone booths, and seating areas.

I think open office plans are the clear winner in a modern workplace, but their weaknesses should be augmented by using aspects of cubicle design that allow for areas of privacy and for different types of work.

Managers still need privacy. In a place where I worked recently, an executive would regularly conduct all their one-on-ones in the open seating area, and several people commented how awkward it was to hear highly personal information being discussed on a daily basis.

In open-floor plans, you can find spaces for deep work, collaboration, and large and small meetings. They can have soundproof booths in a hallway for privacy. Cubicles take up so much real estate, making it hard to create these options.

Another pro of open floor plans is natural light. I've noticed that in newer buildings, everyone has access to sunlight, rather than just the senior and executive leaders in their offices.

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