Chapter 2: Applications of Technical Writing

2.3: Business Plans

By: David McMurrey

Objectives


Upon completion of this chapter, readers will be able to do the following:

  1. Explain the purpose of a business plan.
  2. Identify and define common sections of business plans.
  3. Navigate and apply the format of business plans.

Introduction to Business Plans

A business plan is a document used to start a new business or get funding for a business that is changing in some significant way. Business plans are important documents for business partners who need to agree upon their plans, government officials who need to approve that plan, and of course potential investors such as banks or private individuals who may fund the business.

A business plan is very much like a proposal, except for at least one big difference. The business plan seeks to start a new business or significantly expand an existing business. A proposal, on the other hand, seeks approval to do a specific project. For example, a business plan might seek funding to start a software company to create computer games. A proposal, on the other hand, might bid to do the development work for some specific computer game.

Caution: In a technical writing course, treat a business-plan project as a writing project, not as a real-world business plan. This chapter should not be viewed as a definitive guide for writing a real-world business plan.

Common Sections in Business Plans

Many of the elements of the plans resemble those of the proposal—particularly the qualifications and background sections. Remember that these sections are only typical and not necessarily in any required order. For your plan, you'll need to think about the best sequencing of the sections and about other sections that might also be necessary.

In planning your business plan, remember that you try to provide whatever information the audience may need to consider your idea. Your goal is to convince them you have a good idea and to encourage them to invest in it (or to approve it in some way). It's okay to provide marginal information—information you're not quite sure that readers will want. After all, you section off the parts of a business plan with headings; readers can skip over sections they are not interested in.

Format for Business Plans

You can use the format for the formal report, the format for proposals, or some combination of the two.

Business plans, even those for small operations, can run well over 15 pages—in which case you'll want to bind the plan (see the suggestions in the chapter on formal reports). You'll also need a cover letter—examples of this are also in the chapter on report formatting.

As you plan the format of your business plan, think about designing it so that readers can find and read essential information quickly. This means setting up an abstract but calling it "Executive Summary."

Also plan to group similar sections. In the preceding section that lists the various kinds of information to include in a plan, some of suggestions should be combined—for example, the sections on financial aspects of the proposed business.

And finally, make use of appendixes for unwieldy, bulky information. Enable readers to quickly find the main sections of the plan, without having to wade through tables and charts that go on for pages and pages.

Resources for Business Plans

Here are some additional resources on business plans: