If you're wondering what goes into long term business plans, you should first consider how far out you can comfortably project your operations and financials, and secondly the use to which you intend to put the business plan. If your goal is to sell an idea to investors or get a bank loan to help you get a retail shop off the ground, speculating about the way you'll be bought out in 7-8 years isn't necessary. In fact, a banker won't pay that sort of conjecture any mind at all. For investors or VCs, it can sometimes be very helpful to see that you as the entrepreneur have a solid exit strategy in mind, though there are competing schools of thought about whether (and how) to share this sort of information. A long-term plan needs to:
• Show a reasonable growth trajectory
• Highlight milestones achieved
• Carefully lay out objectives and pin them to a timeline
• Show a minimum of 5 years of projections in the financials
• Itemize the operating assumptions so that you can easily make adjustments going forward
The business plan should also encompass all of the important standard elements of a document like this, including but not limited to a description of your product or service, a close look at the market opportunity in the near term, an assessment of competitive forces and other risks to your business model, and a snapshot of the financial performance year over year. The business plan should also investigate the sort of marketing elements that could pay dividends for your company, whether or not they're likely to be used in the long-term. Need more assistance or want to talk about putting together a business plan like this? MasterPlans has been writing custom business plans ever since 2002 and we have the ability to deliver a draft for you in as little as 10 days. Call 877-453-2011 today!
