Reference no: EM132231722

Purpose and Audience

A business plan can fulfill a single purpose or several purposes. The most common include the following:

To persuade potential investors or lenders to finance a business venture. A comprehensive business plan allows investors to review objectively the company’s assumptions, facts, and future outlook.

To allow reviewers (usually senior management) within a company to assess the profitability and goals of a new, internal business venture. These readers typically want to evaluate economic forecasts and determine future profitability of the new venture and perhaps to provide creative direction.

Before you write a business plan, identify and analyze your audience. The purposes of a business plan can differ dramatically, depending on which audience you are trying to convince. If you are addressing a banker, the central purpose of the business plan is to obtain funding for the new venture; to accomplish than, you need to demonstrate credibility by documenting a solid history of financial success. If you are addressing senior management, the central purpose is to demonstrate how the venture is likely to add value to the company. See also persuasion.

When you are writing a business plan, find out which issues are of most interest to your audience and respond directly to those issues. If you are writing a plan for multiple audiences with diverse interest and needs, be comprehensive in addressing all interest and needs in your plan.

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