Comparing Business Plans: Blueprints Business Planning Pty Ltd and Growth Management and Strategies

Compare the business plans of Blueprints Business Planning Pty Ltd and Growth Management and Strategies. Analyze the strategies and operations of both companies. Learn about entrepreneurship and strategic management.

Running head: ENTERPRENUERSHIP
Entrepreneurship
Name of the Student:
Name of the University:
Author note

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Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................2
Section 1: Executive Summary........................................................................................................2
Section 2: Background or Company Summary...............................................................................5
Section 3: Marketing or Service/ Market Analysis..........................................................................7
Section 4: Operations or Strategy and Implementation Summary..................................................9
Section 5: Financial plan...............................................................................................................11
Conclusion.....................................................................................................................................12
Reference list:................................................................................................................................13

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Introduction
A business plan is a document that frameworks the operations of a business venture that
is going to be commenced. It has all the necessary information regarding the business starting
from the process of incorporation to the revenue streams that are expected from the business. It is
a document that helps entrepreneurs to attract the investors as it talks about the prospect of the
business with financial figures to back up the propositions (Schaper et al. 2014). In this
assignment two business plans are going to be compared in order to understand the concept
clearly and recognize entrepreneurial business plan strategies that facilitated the organisations to
achieve their objectives and be successful. The business plan of the organisations that is going to
be compared is Blueprints Business Planning Pty Ltd (BBP) and Growth Management and
Strategies (GMS). I have chosen Growth Management and Strategies from Bplan.com as it is
from the same industry as Blueprints Business Planning Pty Ltd. The comparison will be held
section wise according to the sections presented in the example. Including the appendix the
Bplan of BBP is divided in 7 sections, whereas for GMS there are 8 sections.
Section 1: Executive Summary
Blueprints Business Planning Pty Ltd
An executive summary is the prologue of the plan and should be divided in proper
rational sections in order to prepare the reader for the contents in the following document. The
executive summary of BBP is sectioned in four categories, the headings used are self
explanatory, the first section is business idea and goals it clearly states the name, nature, address
and the names of the employees of the company along with the purpose or the goal. It also

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mentions all the services of the company as well as the target market (Finch, 2016). The sales
and the revenue expectation of the first year of commencement are also mentioned. It provides a
clear idea of what the company is about and what are the objectives in brief.
The next segment is marketing; this section briefly states the target market and the
methods of marketing that will be used to promote the business to the mentioned market. It also
states some of the figures that the company has found form the market research.
The operations segment states the designation of the employee and the base of operation
along with an idea of the equipments that is necessary (Mason and Stark, 2004, p. 227-248).
One of the major aspects of a business plan is the financial segment here it states that the
company will be self-funded and the amount of initial capital that will be provided by the
directors of the organisation is also mentioned. It also states that that the company will not
borrow unless there is dire need for money (Verbovskiy, 2014, p.2)
Growth Management and Strategies
Here the executive summary is divided in three sub-sections the introduction of the
executive summary provides an idea of the company as well as the objective of the company
along with the objective of the plan which. Here there is a graphical representation of the sales,
gross margin and net profit expected figures for the next three years.
The next sections are the objectives which are written in crisp clear language, this helps
in understanding the steps that the company will take better.

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The mission section of the executive summary states the target market in brief, as well as
some of the values and principles that the company will follow in the course of the venture. The
employment strategy is also briefly stated along with the some of the human resource strategies.
The third sub-division stated in bullet points what the company is going to do in order to
achieve the objectives that have been stated.
Comparison: The executive summary of BBP is clearly more structured and provided much
more information of the company than that of GMS, BBP states all the necessary information
regarding the company and the business and what the reader immediately understands what to
expect from the information in the following document. Market research is essential part of the
BBP plan is evident it is a strategy that provides a company with concrete base to from the
arguments upon. On the other hand, the graphical representation provides a better idea of the
forecasted figures.

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Section 2: Background or Company Summary
Blueprints Business Planning Pty Ltd
The first subsection is the mission statement, this portion clearly states the goals and
mission of the company along with the values and principles based on which the organisation
will operate in the future. This is the first step of strategic management. Here the company
mentions the four most important stakeholders of the company to be the client, the community,
the employees and the owners.
The next section is a brief history regarding the story behind the process of incorporation,
this information extents the readers idea of the company.
Lastly business goals, it provides information regarding short term as well as long term
proceedings of the company along with projected figures. The exit strategy of the company has
also been stated which makes it a holistic approach to the business plan.
Growth Management and Strategies
The second section is called the company summary and it has two sub sections, start-up
summary and the company ownership. The introduction paragraph states the background of the
owner and the skills and resource that he has at disposal for the organisation.
The first subsection is a comprehensive graphical as well as tabular explanation of the
finances of the start up venture. It provides a holistic view of how the owners propose to carry on
the business. It states the start up expense and requirements in terms of expense and assets. The

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total assets and liabilities along with the investment has been listed along with the figures in a
tabular format which is easy to understand.
The third portion is the ownership summary which states the nature of the business, and
the name of the owner, which is repetitive information as it was stated in the introductory
paragraph itself the only information that is additional is the exact nature of the business that is
LLC.
Comparison: The approach of the second section is different for both the companies, BBP has a
structured information process without any figures or graphs, on the other hand the information
stated by GMS is repetitive but the most important information is supplied in comprehensive
tabular format along with the graphs. As a part of strategic management the company has to sure
of the initial requirements, assets and liabilities in order to invest the correct amount. It is also
important to recognise the importance of the stakeholders of the company in order to make plans
and strategies to benefit them (Thomas et al., 2014, p. 34).
.

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Section 3: Marketing or Service/ Market Analysis
Blueprints Business Planning Pty Ltd
The third section is divided in many heading and sub headings providing a
comprehensive idea of the strategic plan that the management of the company has for the success
of the venture. The first heading in this section is Market research; it lists all the information
sources and the process by which the company has initiated the market research process.
Market analysis is the next category, industry analysis, seasonality; competition in the
market as well as potential strategic alliances has been discussed in this section. These are
important information for the management to make strategic management decisions in order to
keep up with the business environment. The SWOT analysis of the company offers an idea of the
internal and external analysis brief of the company and its potential (Brooks et al. 2014, p. 23).
The next section is a comprehensive marketing plan where the marketing activities along
with the information to back up the plan have been stated. All the four Ps of the marketing mix is
answered in this segment. This section not only focuses on the Promotion or IMC part of
marketing it also focuses on the strategic management part, in understanding the target market,
requirements of the customers and their behaviour towards the service that the company has to
offer (Khan, 2014, p. 95). It also states the inputs that the company has to make in order to reach
out to the customers. Lastly the section covers the pricing policy of the services and an
explanation for the price that has been quoted (Sutton, 2013).
Growth Management and Strategies

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Here the two sections of the Bplan is going to be discussed first is service section which
briefly states the services and the pricing policy, the information in this section is incomplete as
it does not state the exact service and the reason for the pricing policy, the only relevant
information here is the fact that the company will offer a customised service for the clients along
with the fixed services which will have fixed rates.
The next section is market analysis summary, it includes market segmentation, target
market analysis, industry analysis. The introduction states briefly about the clientele that the
company will serve and the gap that the service is going to fill. The market segmentation projects
the potential customers and the following section explains the target market of the company in
three tiers. This section is differently from the previous as it explains the target market and the
strategic planning behind the process (Abrams, 2003).
Like the previous company the industry analysis is provides an idea of the opportunities
and threats that the company have in terms of external business environment. Though there is no
SWOT analysis undertaken, the customers and buying behaviours are also discussed which is an
addition to the strategic management process.
Comparison: The BBP business plan states all the aspects of the 4Ps of a marketing mix but the
GMS plan lacks the pricing strategy, explanation of the service as well as the promotional aspect
it just focuses on the market analysis of the business. In the strategic management of a business
marketing plays an important role in order to make sure that the company is reaching out to the
correct target market and developing the services or products according to the requirement of the
customers.

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Section 4: Operations or Strategy and Implementation Summary
Blueprints Business Planning Pty Ltd
This section answers all the particulars regarding the operation process of the start up, as
it is a new company therefore there are a number of legal operations the company has to
undertake in order to incorporate the business, it mentions the shareholders and the ownership
divisions as well as the licensing that has to be initiated. This is followed by the management
details.
Organisation structure and staffing is the following section, another important decision of
the strategic management process. The staffing goal that has been stated are for a period of two
to three years, the per annum salary along with the job role requirement criteria is mentioned in
this section.
The next section has additional information regarding the professional advisers who will
work as third party help for the business operations like lawyers, bookkeepers, insurance brokers
etc. This segment is followed by insurance and the security measures that the company needs to
take, business premises and equipments that are required in the long run as well as in the short
run is also mentioned. This is important as all these factors add up to the expenses of the
company (Jones and Penaluna, 2013, p. 804-814).
The approaches that the company will take in order to assure the quality of the service is
mentioned in the production process segment which is followed by the implementation of
technology and the risks that are associated with the venture. It also explains a contingency plan

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that will allow the company t mitigate the risks. Risk management is a significant in management
as it helps the company to be papered by the dynamic of the industry.
Growth Management and Strategies
This section is like a miscellaneous segment in the business plan it talks about all the
strategies that are going to be undertaken by the company to achieve the objectives. The first sub
section is regarding the strategies that the company will use to gain competitive advantage, not
only that it also states why the strategies are going to work. As the service is not yet clear the
competitive advantage may seem a little vague (McKeever, 2016).
Marketing strategies are the following section where the exact plan or strategy is not
discussed rather the way to decide upon the plan of action is mentioned. It says that the focus
will be three-tiered but does not give out a holistic view of the actions that the company will
take.
Sales strategies are mentioned in a comprehensive way, it briefly states about the
employment opportunities of the company followed by the process that will be undertaken. The
sales forecast of first year and the next two years are shown but are arbitrary and lack logical
base (McKenzie, 2017, pp. 2278-2307).
Comparison: The BBP structure of the business plan is more concrete and gives out information
that are relevant than the GMS one. With the help of the BBP plan it is clear that in order to
establish a business in the service sector it is important to strategies about the operations clearly
(Bridge and Hegarty, 2013).

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Section 5: Financial plan
Blueprints Business Planning Pty Ltd
As a business plan is documented before the business is running there are a number of
assumptions that the management has to consider these assumptions and market information that
are gathered from the base of the financial projections.
Sales mix forecast, cash flow forecast, projected profit and loss statement, owners
personal expense along with assets and liabilities are provided in a tabular form in order to
determine the success or failure of the business (Hiduke, and Ryan, 2013).
Growth Management and Strategies
Much like the BBP, the financial plan of GMS also follows the same pattern; there is also
use of graphs in the document which makes the projections easy to understand and the numbers
easily comprehendible. There are a number of assumptions which are briefly stated.
Comparison: The assumptions are important in a business plan and the absence of these in the
GMS makes the document less argumentative from the entrepreneur’s end. The BBP plan has a
good explanation of the expected ROI based on a market research (Feenstra, 2014, p. 116).

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Conclusion
From the above discussion it is clear that the Business plan is one of the most important
documents while venturing in a new business and the Bplan presented by BBP is more a
comprehensive, structured and educative than GMS. The strategic management steps that has
been highlighted in the process is the importance of a market research, understanding the
customer and their needs and specifying the product or service, stating the stakeholders
importance, values and principles based on which the objectives and mission of the company is
based. It is also important to have a logical flow of information while documenting the business
plan.

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Reference list:
Abrams, R.M., 2003. The successful business plan: secrets & strategies. The Planning Shop.
Bridge, S. and Hegarty, C., 2013. Beyond the Business Plan: 10 Principles for New Venture
Explorers. Springer.
Brooks, G., Heffner, A. and Henderson, D., 2014. A SWOT analysis of competitive knowledge
from social media for a small start-up business. The Review of Business Information Systems
(Online), 18(1), p.23.
Feenstra, D., 2014. The Standout Business Plan: Make Irresistible-and Get the Funds You Need
for Your Startup or Growing Business. Journal of Applied Management and Entrepreneurship,
19(4), p.116.
Finch, B., 2016. How to write a business plan. Kogan Page Publishers.
Hiduke, G. and Ryan, J.D., 2013. Small business: an entrepreneur's business plan. Cengage
Learning.
Jones, C. and Penaluna, A., 2013. Moving beyond the business plan in enterprise education.
Education+ Training, 55(8/9), pp.804-814.
Khan, M.T., 2014. The concept of'marketing mix'and its elements (a conceptual review paper).
International journal of information, business and management, 6(2), p.95.
Mason, C. and Stark, M., 2004. What do investors look for in a business plan? A comparison of
the investment criteria of bankers, venture capitalists and business angels. International small
business journal, 22(3), pp.227-248.

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McKeever, M., 2016. How to write a business plan. Nolo.
McKenzie, D., 2017. Identifying and spurring high-growth entrepreneurship: experimental
evidence from a business plan competition. American Economic Review, 107(8), pp.2278-2307.
Schaper, M.T., Volery, T., Weber, P.C. and Gibson, B., 2014. Entrepreneurship and small
business.
Sutton, G., 2013. Writing winning business plans: how to prepare a business plan that investors
will want to read and invest in. RDA Press, LLC.
Thomas, D.F., Gudmundson, D., Turner, K. and Suhr, D., 2014. Business Plan Competitions and
Their Impact on New Ventures' Business Models. Journal of Strategic Innovation and
Sustainability, 10(1), p.34.
Verbovskiy, V.A., 2014. Basics of successful startup development in the field of innovation.
Journal of Economics and Social Sciences, (5), p.2.