Business Plans guide the management, owners, and investors as businesses start-up and grow. A business owner or prospective business owner composes a Business Plan to shed light on each aspect of his business, describing all the objectives that will anticipate and prepare it for its growth. Business owners create Business Plans to guide management and promote investment capital.
Generally speaking, there are three types of Business Plans, each written for a different purpose or a different situation. Below, we will be discussing them further.
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- Operational Business Plan
First is the Operational Business Plan. It is intended for internal use in an ongoing business. This is used mainly by the management, board of directors, and high-level advisors. Since this is used to focus and align the efforts of the managers in the company to achieve their business goals, it should be updated Quarterly
An Operational Business Plan is the master blueprint which ties your budget and department plans. Inside your operational plan are Company Direction, plans for Products or Services, Sales, Marketing, and Finance, and Administration. Being able to create a great operational plan is the foundation for running a viable business successfully.
- Summary Business Plan
Second is a Summary Business Plan. This is intended for external use, meaning this is a shorter document that highlights the most important 
information about your business, its goals, and its direction. It should contain a clear-cut explanation as to the specific request or requests you have for the reader of this plan. From the name itself, it should be the summary of your request. Showcase enough information that will interest them to see your Complete Business Plan.
You can also use a Summary Business Plan for inviting investors, small to moderate banks to offer you a loan, or to attract essential employees. A typical Summary Business Plan could run between 3-5 pages.
- Complete Business Plan
Lastly is a Complete Business Plan. Like a Summary Business Plan, this is also for external use. This is important if you are seeking a significant amount of funding – opposite with the previous business plan. You would want to show your readers the full picture of your business. A Complete Business Plan can be around 40 pages or more and invariably includes Financial Statement Projections for 3 to 5 years and Monthly Cash Flow projections over the same period. You also need to show in these projections why the funding is needed or how it will be used.
In this type of business plan, you need to explain your business ideas in detail to potential backers or investors, strategic partners or even potential buyers of your company, if you’re selling. This should clearly state the specific requests you’re making with your business plan and what your company can bring to the table.
The vast majority of Businesses will typically benefit massively from having the Operational Business Plan. The fear in creating such a Business Plan is the time required. The FOCUS Yourself; A 7-Module Business Planning Program referenced below under What’s Your Next Step is a templated Business Planning system thatmakes an OPerational Business Plan EASY & FAST and it so happens it’s FREE too.
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