Business Plan

Different Types of Business Plans for a Start-up

India has witnessed a significant rise in the no. of start-ups in recent years which have increased by 15,400 percent over the past six years. The rise has led to an increase in the requirement of business plan as it is important to attract investors, which makes it essential for the businessman to have proper knowledge of the different types of business plans.

This article discusses the Different Types of Business plans to help a business choose the best plan for their business. 

What is a Business Plan?

A business plan refers to a document describing the company’s core objectives and measures undertaken to achieve those goals and objectives. A business plan is prepared either to get funding from the investors or to regulate the operations of the business.

What are the Different Types of Business Plans for a Start-up?

The Different Types of Business plans are enlisted below –

Standard Business Plan

This type of business plan is prepared by following the standard textbook approach, i.e. starting from the summary and explaining everything through various sections such as the vision of the business, target audience financial information and finally ending with a conclusion. This type of business plan provides a detailed overview of all the different sections mentioned in the business plan equally without laying any special emphasis on a particular section. 

Growth Business Plan

This is another business plan that forms a part of the Different Types of business plans for a start-up. As the name suggests, this plan focuses on the growth aspect of the business. Here the emphasis is laid on certain sections such as the proposed strategy, parameters and metrics to aid in assessment, execution mechanism and essential statistics. 

It is important for the businessman to provide a well-defined strategy that must include the key pointers such as the solutions to the problems identified earlier, the targeted audience along with the plan to approach them. 

Further, this plan highlights the methodology to implement the strategy discussed in the former half of the business plan enumerating the details of every step of the strategy.  

The third component of the business plan must discuss the metrics that refer to the measurement of the performance of the business with the established benchmarks. 

Finally, the growth business plan must include the statistics to support the information mentioned above-using charts, tables or any other manner to effectively convey the required information. 

Lean Business Plan

This plan follows a concise approach and does not include an in depth analysis, and can be considered an optimised version of the standard business plan. This business plan has the following components –

Strategy: This section elaborates on what the particular venture intends to achieve through the business plan and the strategy to achieve the same. Working per the strategy can save the management from unnecessary waste of efforts and time.

Metrics, Assumptions and schedule: The metrics are formulated on the basis of established benchmarks that helps to draw assumptions, and the schedule is formulated on the basis of assumptions and metrics, therefore it can be concluded that these the components form an important part of the lean business plan.

Forecast: Mentioning the accurate sales, expenditure and revenue forecast is an important aspect of any business. However, predicting the same can help enhance the business plan’s credibility.   

Run, review and revise: In case a pitch deck event is round the corner, the essential details like publicity measures, marketing tactics^[1], and a summary to the plan formulated must be added. Otherwise, one must spend time undertaking mock presentations, reviewing the draft, and eliminating the identified defects. This practice must be carried out as a cycle and repeated periodically.

Internal Business Plan

An internal business plan is prepared for the internal management of the business. The reason for formulating such a plan is to ensure proper management of the operation of the business rather than presenting it to the external investors. This plan consists of the goals and objectives of the business and the means to achieve those objectives, along with the roles and responsibilities of the employees and other relevant personnel. 

Operations Business Plan

Another plan included in the Different types of Business plans for a start-up is the operations business plan. The plan is formulated to elaborate the annual operations along with the deadlines and requirements that are needed to be achieved by the end of the particular financial year. This plan also mentions the KPIs and KPA for the evaluation of the employees, together with the millstones that the employees are required to hit. 

Feasibility Business Plan

The feasibility plan ascertains if the proposed product or service of the business would be successful when launched in the market. The plan also helps to determine the intended demographics, and potential investors depending upon the product or service, followed by the recommendations to manage the business effectively. 

One Page Business Plan

As the name suggests, this type of plan summarises the whole plan straight from the introduction to the conclusion in a concise one-page template. This can be quite beneficial as reading a long business plan can be quite monotonous for the investors or any other party that the business hopes to target, which can affect the pitch of the presenter. This type of plan can be as effective and beneficial as a pamphlet. 

Strategic Business Plan

This business plan is based on the internal business plan. It majorly focuses on the strategy and tactics that must be adopted in order to achieve the goals and objectives of the business. It is an elaborate plan rather than a one-page business plan and contributes immensely to the internal management of the business.  

Contingency Business Plan

The list of different types of Business Plans for a start-up also includes a contingency business plan which is prepared to deal with the contingency situations within the business. This plan enlists the various risks involved in the business and the contingent situations which can occur in the business, followed by the measures that the business intends to take in order to tackle the situation. 

Start-up Business Plan                                       

This type of business plan can be considered the foundation plan for a start- up business. It is a version of the lean plan and mostly focuses on emerging companies. The main idea behind preparing this business plan is to attract investors who can provide funding to the start-up business. 

Conclusion 

The above discussion helps to draw the conclusion that the Startup must consciously select the best business plan from the Different Types of Business Plans for Start-up depending upon the need of the business. 

Read Our Article: Why a Business Plan is Considered as a First Step of Business?