Often companies are asked to develop a business plan when they want to borrow money from a bank or attract investors. They are also often associated with start-ups or companies looking to attract financial investment. Business Roadmaps are more strategic in nature and are about defining the journey to some desired future state of the business.
Let’s dig deeper:
Definitions:
A Business plan is often a statement of what’s going on in your business right now and/or a description of what your business idea is and why it should excite investors or pacify your bank manager. It focuses on some or all of the following:
- What is the reason I’m looking for investment?
- What is my new service or product offering?
- Why is it better than anything else out there?
- Who will want it?
- How much will they pay?
- When will my new business be profitable?
- Who is on my team?
Notice that all the points above are questions that require answers!
A Business Roadmap is a description of the journey you need to take to achieve your business goals. It describes where you are now, where you want to get to and what you will need to get done to arrive.
This is something you do typically for yourself or your business. It focuses on the following:
- A detailed analysis of the current state of your business across all operational areas and the environment within business is being carried out.
- Identification of the major factors impacting your business right now
- A definition of where you want your business to get to at a specific time in the future
- Identification of those factors which are most impactful and mostly likely in need of addressing in order for you to get to your end goal
- A list of objectives that address those factors
- A Timeline that outlines when you are going to work on delivering those objectives
Why we recommend a Business Roadmap
A Business Plan is a statement of what the intention is in a business venture. A Business Roadmap is a breakdown of what has to happen in order to get there.
We believe that most businesses are better served by developing a Business Roadmap rather than a Business Plan. Business Plans tend to get put in a drawer and are often a point-in-time, purely paper exercise to satisfy some external request.
Business Roadmaps are forward looking, holistic, living tools that allow businesses to set internal goals and drive change. They are about figuring out the way forward as a team and keeping you honest and engaged. It’s about building momentum and moving forward.
My Business Roadmap from Stratoveras makes building a Business Roadmap easy, motivating and engaging. Get started today and take control of your business environment, you deserve it!