Innovator's Toolkit

APPENDIX A

Writing a Business Plan

A business plan is a document that explains a business opportunity, identifies the market to be served, and provides details about how the organization plans to pursue it. Ideally, the business plan describes the unique qualifications that the team brings to the effort, explains the resources required for success, and provides a forecast of results over a reasonable time horizon.

If you are an entrepreneur, you’ll need a business plan in order to obtain funding. Lenders and investors want to see a logical and coherent plan before putting their money at risk. Who wouldn’t? If you are innovating within a corporation—or if you’re an idea champion—you too will benefit from having a formal business plan. Like private ...