Business planning process vs business plan – Let’s start!

If you consider starting your own business it is good to see a difference between a business planning process and a business plan. Why? Because a business planning process is an activity which is spread in time. While a business plan is a thing which, if you have your planning already done, demands less time. 

Understanding a difference helps to make choices. What kind of support and for what task you actually need? 

We like to tell our clients that preparing a business plan depends on how fast you can write and how good you are with Excel to support your story with numbers.

A business planning process depends on how much you already know about your business, and very often, how good you are in finding people who will help you to give it a right form. 

Although ideally, this couple should be inseparable or at least tightly interconnected, in reality, we see that these two may not necessarily complement one another. Why? Simply because not everybody is equally good in everything and has enough time for every task. 

What is business planning process? It is a set of theoretical and practical steps to be taken in order to know what is your current situation, where you want your business to be in the future and how you are going to do your business to get there.

Business planning process consists of main blocks such as:

- strategic planning, 

- research and analysis, 

- marketing planning, 

- financial planning, and 

- operational planning. 

It requires skills such as: 

- being able to generate ideas,

- strategic thinking, 

- knowing how to make research, 

- critical thinking, 

- risk assessment ability, and 

- drawing conclusions. 

It also demands to have knowledge about marketing, finance, and operations which concern your business. 

Finally, planning by itself i.e. transforming ideas into action steps is also a challenging part of business planning process. 

What is a business plan? It is the tangible output of the business planning process. It is a story of your business supported with financial information and figures and presented in a structured way.

There are various kinds of business plans depending on who is supposed to be an addressee of a plan and what you need a plan for. 

However, it is safe to say that topics covered by a business plan correspond with the main block of business planning process.

As long as you do not need to present your business plan to any third party, such as an investor, we see a business plan as a useful tool which enables you to think strategically about your business, stay focused, and help to get clients. 

If a business plan is for a third party, it needs to be prepared in a convincing, eye-catching manner. This means that producing a business plan requires:

- clear, concise writing, 

- command of Excel and 

- knowing how to make content engaging from a marketing point of view. 

What does it mean for you in practice if you want to start your business? 

1. Think about it what you really need: do you need a business plan i.e. a document or presentation? For yourself or for a third party? Or rather you need to go through a planning process? 

2. If you need a business plan for a third party if possible choose a template this party uses.

3. If you need to consult your business idea and strategize with somebody, plan your planning because it may take some time before all ideation and preparation are done. 

4. Last but not least, ask an expert for advice. Most of the business consultants will be happy to talk to you and give you directions about your first steps. 

#startingbusiness, #condible, #businessplan, #businessplanning