Caught in the heated debate about long vs short business plans?
Well, the number of pages never was and will never be a good metric to measure the length and depth of your plan.
However, if adding a number to your ‘how long should a business plan be’ question can bring clarity, this blog post will have some refreshing insights for you.
Let’s not beat around the bush and simply dive in.
How long should a business plan be?
A business plan can be anywhere between 2-20 pages long. However, a detailed comprehensive business plan can get lengthy, extending up to 50 pages. The length truly is a subjective matter depending largely on the complexity of the business model, the growth stage of a business idea, and the audience of your business plan.
The purpose and length of your business plan
Different types of business plans vary in size depending upon the purpose they serve and the audience they cater to.
Before diving into the details of each plan, refer to this table that quickly distills clarity about the length and purpose of each business plan.
| Business plan type | Purpose | Average length (pages) |
|---|---|---|
| Traditional business plan | Seeking investment or potential investors | 15-50 |
| One Page/lean business plan | Summarize your entire business idea concisely. | 1-2 |
| Growth business plan | Defines the strategies for growth and expansion. | 10-30 |
| Operational business plan | Outlines day-to-day business processes. | 40-100 |
Let’s now discuss these plans briefly to gather a more thorough outlook.
1) Traditional business plan
A traditional plan (A.K.A. standard business plan) offers an in-depth overview of your entire business idea in about 15-50 pages.
It’s very difficult to put a finger on its upper limit, however, comprehensive business plans can be as long as 100 pages. This is especially the case if you are writing a business plan for complicated and complex businesses.
We found this breakdown by Fred Winchar, the CEO at MaxCash to be quite insightful. It shows how long the key elements of your business plan should be.
- Executive summary: 2 pages
- Company Description: 2 pages
- Market research (market analysis, target market study, and competitive analysis): 10 pages
- Company and management team: 2 pages
- Product and service offerings: 10 pages
- Sales and marketing strategy: 10 pages
- Financial projections: 10 pages
- Funding plan: 2 pages
- Appendix: Varies
Now, this is just an insight. Just because it’s a comprehensive plan, doesn’t mean you make it unnecessarily long.
Focus on making your business plan meaty and distill high-value information through easy-to-scan paragraphs, graphics, charts, and bullet lists.
2) One-page/lean business plan
A one-page plan(mini business plan) as the name suggests is one page long. It’s a condensed version of your traditional plan and is much like an executive summary conveying high-value information about your business.
These plans focus on brevity and a lean business planning approach. They outline the key elements of a business like business strategy, customer and their pain points, unique value proposition, go-to-market strategy, and financials in a highly engaging yet crisp manner.
In conversation with Alok Jain, the CEO at DoReveal, he voiced his opinion about lean plans. According to him, a concise format of one-page plans encourages deep thinking and distinguishes the critical aspects of your business from the noise. These plans are easier to recall and are highly actionable compared to detailed traditional plans.
3) Growth business plan
One prepares a growth business plan when planning a business expansion or a launch of a new product in the market. Such plans combine the crispness of a one-page plan and the detailing of financial projections to assist in decision-making.
Growth plans can be anywhere between 10-30 pages long outlining objectives, growth strategies, and a roadmap to get you where you want.
Apart from that, here are a few more details that a growth plan should include:
- Growth opportunity analysis
- Current sales and revenue
- SWOT analysis (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats)
- Marketing plans
- Capability planning
- Financial goals and plan
4) Operational business plan
An operational plan outlines and details everything about business operations in great depth. These plans are mainly used for internal guidance and can be about 40-100 pages long.
Operational plans don’t follow a strict structure. However, in terms of content, does it answer the following questions?
- How will the resources be allocated within the organization?
- What will be the process(SOPs) for logistics, manufacturing, purchasing, and other business activities?
- Who will be responsible for different business operations?
- How will the workflow be within the organization?
- What’s your hiring plan?
- When will you attain business objectives?
- What are the KPIs for operational success?
- What are the contingency plans for disruptions?
As we said, structure can be anything. The plan just needs to be clear, communicative, and viable enough to implement practically.
Prepare a plan for your audience (length shouldn’t matter)
A business plan should cater to the needs of your audience and that’s it. It doesn’t matter if it takes you 10 pages to convey a business idea or 100(well, 100 is a bit excessive).
As long as the reader can grasp essential information through quick scanning and skimming, page count is nothing but a number.
When preparing a plan for investors, remember that they appreciate the plans that get straight to the point but don’t skimp on the details. According to Gary Hemming, the lending director at ABC Finance, entrepreneurs should focus on brevity without skimping on essential information.
A 15-30 page plan with scannable texts, graphics, business charts, and financial tables should be sufficient.
Anything longer than that can deter the investor’s interest and anything shorter may come across as an inefficient plan.
However, when it comes to internal use plans the number of pages plays no magical role. That being said, you can easily convey goals and strategies in about 5 pages while it may take up to 50 pages to detail your business operations.
Here are a few questions that would help determine the length of your business plan:
- Is the audience looking for an in-depth overview or a quick macro perspective?
- Will the audience require proof for technical documents, market research, and financial projections?
- Does my reader appreciate brevity or a detailed perspective?
- Does my plan convey enough information and proof to persuade my readers to take action?
- Does my funding request support enough documentation?
With that, focus on what you want to achieve with the plan and let the length follow.
The right length for a business plan competition
Presenting your business plan in competitions? Well, the length will play a magical factor now.
Most VC contests limit the length of a business plan to 30 or 40 pages. In many cases, this would also include pages of your appendix.
Here’s where contestants make a huge mistake. They try fitting all the business details within these pages forgetting that this will only make their business plan dense and crammed.
Instead, focus on persuading the investors with synthesized and distilled information. There is no need to overload them with extra details. The investors would remain happily engrossed reading a plan as long as it’s meaty and contextual.
Start writing your business plan
That’s it. Now begins the challenge of crafting a detailed but extremely crisp and concise business plan.
Although it may sound challenging, that’s no reason to be afraid of business planning. As Alister Wood from VisitUs says, crafting a perfect-length business plan is easier than ever.
From business planning apps to business plan samples and step-by-step guides, you can explore tons of online resources to help you craft (just perfect) plans. Then we also have AI business plan generators wherein an AI would craft a quick plan for you in about minutes.
Ready to take the first step?
Try Bizplanr AI business plan creator for free and get your business plan ready in about 10 minutes.
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Answer a few questions, and AI will generate a detailed business plan.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do investors prefer longer or shorter business plans?
Investors generally prefer a 15-30-page business plan offering essential insights into market, product, and financial aspects. However, most investors need an executive summary or a one-page plan before deciding whether or not to dive further into your plan.
What is the difference between a one-page business plan and a detailed business plan?
A one-page business plan is a condensed version of your traditional plans offering a quick and crisp overview of a business opportunity. Detailed plans, on the other hand, offer an in-depth overview of the market, financials, product offerings, and business strategies.
How long should a business plan be for a small business?
A business plan of about 10-20 pages is enough for simple business models. It’s quick, easy to digest, and offers essential information quickly through highly engaging texts and visuals.
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