Definitive Business Plan, Second Edition, The

Your target audience

Given the variety of uses for a business plan, it should be clear that there are many different target audiences. As far as is practicable you should know your audience, what they will be looking for and how they will interpret what they read. This is mainly a matter of classifying readers by their profession and experience.

Venture capital providers are looking for a sound proposition, evidence of good management, a good marketing plan, and an exit point (a way to get their money back). A corporate boss knows what his or her management team can do and is probably looking more to see that the operational plan will help to meet objectives. A banker will love the financial analysis.

In addition, any single plan will probably ...