By definition, a business plan is a formal statement of a set of business goals, the reasons why they are believed attainable and the plan for reaching those goals. They are used in both primary and secondary programs to teach economic principles. A business plan having changes in perception and branding as its primary goals is called a marketing plan. If it identifies and target internal goals but provide only general guidance on how they will be met, the they are called strategic plans.

It should contain whatever information is needed to decide whether or not to pursue a goal. It can be helpful to view the business plan as a collection of sub plans, one for each of the main business disciplines. Indeed, there are no fixed content for a business plan. The format of a business plan depends on its presentation context and cost and revenue estimates are central to any business plan for deciding the viability of the planned venture.

An external business plan should list all legal concerns and financial liabilities that might negatively affect investors. However, they may require each party receiving the business plan to sign a contract accepting special clauses and conditions. Traditionally, business plans have been highly confidential and quite limited in audience. Business plans are kept as secret, however, the emergence of free software and open source has opened the model and made the notion of an open business plan possible.

In the free software and open source business model, trade secrets, copyright and patents can no longer be used as effective locking mechanisms to provide sustainable advantages to a particular business and therefore a secret business plan is less relevant in those models. Every business plan is uniquely suited to its companys situation but successful plans tend to have several key traits in common.

Moreover, while there is no one perfect length for a business plan, you should make sure your plan hits the right level of detail and meets the expectations of your readers. A good business plan will be the best indicator that can be used to judge your potential for success. Though, in some cases the business plan as a whole contains similar information but for one type of plan it is mere detail and for another it is a key decision making factor.

Sometimes a business plan will seek to earn a superior return by adding superior management talent to an existing weak company. Infact, external business plan should list all legal concerns and financial liabilities that might negatively affect investors. Depending on the amount of funds being raised and the audience to whom the plan is presented, failure to do this may have severe legal consequences.

Moreover, they may require each party receiving the business plan to sign a contract accepting special clauses and conditions. Marketing plan defines all of the components of your marketing strategy. It should also integrate traditional offline programs with new media online strategies. Powerful business plan will be the best indicator that can be used to judge your potential for success.

Nevertheless, a good business plan should indeed contain whatever information is needed to decide whether or not to pursue a certain goal. When preparing a business plan, draw on a wide range of knowledge from many different business disciplines like finance, human resource management, intellectuals, property management, marketing and other sources. A successful business plan is a living roadmap to your future, not a packet of paper in your desk drawer. Start your business planning process with a clear look at where you stand today and what you want to achieve.