Business plan: what it is and what it means

A business plan is the document that translates an idea or a strategic choice into numbers, timelines and resource requirements. It is the quantified version of the business model: it starts from the logic of the business model and tests its numerical and financial sustainability. It is not the same as strategy, which comes first, nor the business model canvas, which describes the logic of value in nine blocks. It should also be distinguished from the corporate plan, a more extensive version typical of mid-sized and large companies during extraordinary transactions. For an owner-led company, the business plan remains the main tool for conversations with banks and investors and for testing your own assumptions.

Distinctive: quantified version of the business model
Distinctive: testing your own assumptions
Essential: numbers, timelines and resource requirements
Essential: numerical and financial sustainability
Constant: document
Constant: logic of the business model

Glossary

Business plan

A document that translates an idea or a strategic choice into numbers, timelines and resource requirements, serving to test whether the business model holds up numerically.