Help! I need to write a business plan.
Help! I Need To Write A Business Plan
Business Development Series (Article 1 of 9)
An idea without a plan is nothing more than a theory. All leaders need a plan and all leaders of organizations need a business plan. So, what is the difference between writing a business development plan and writing a business strategic plan?
Well, it depends on what you are trying to accomplish.
There are times when you might not need or want to change your strategyA strategy can be defined as a coordinated set of actions designed to create the conditions most favorable to achieving an objective—you simply need a plan to help you implement your current strategy better; you need a guide to help you manage the day-to-day operations of your organization. In this situation, what you need is a plan that develops the parts of your business that will help you successfully implement your existing strategy. We call this a business development plan, and it is written as an instructional guide to help the employees in your organization understand their role and what it will take to perform that role. It is also used to help investors/funders—potential and existing—understand how their investment will be put to use.
A strategic plan is useful when things have changed so much that you come to suspect that your current strategy is out of date. A strategic plan starts by assessing how your environment—both internal and external—has changed and how those changes impact the day-to-day operation of your organization. Writing a strategic plan is a much more intense process and requires more people and more resources to pull it off successfully.
When to write a business plan
Help! I Need To Write A Business Plan
Business Development Series (Article 2 of 9)
A business development plan lays out a series of tasks and activities that are specifically designed to “develop” all of the structural elements of your organization so that you can successfully implement your current strategy.
Those elements include your employees, your technology, your systems, etc. A business plan is often useful during the start-up phase—when an organization is just forming or starting up. If you are in the start-up phase, a business development plan will help you build and grow your business step by step. The most important thing that an organization in the start-up phase needs is a clear, step-by-step plan that identifies the specific tasks and activities necessary to develop the organization’s structure.
A business plan is also useful for organizations that are more mature. Maturity can run the gamut from long-standing small businesses to multinational corporations. If you find that your organization is no longer in the start-up phase, but that you do need a document to help you get things done more efficiently and more effectively, perhaps you might need a business development plan.
Finally, some people come to the conclusion that they need to be able to give prospective investors, funders, or even strategic partners something that describes the specific structural elements that, if developed further, would propel you forward. In this situation, a business development plan becomes a selling tool that can be used to attract additional resources that can help you strengthen your existing infrastructure.
So, after reading these scenarios, what if you really do need a business development plan?
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