B. Units 1 & 2 (t3) - Business plans and models

Task 3 - Business Plans and Models

Business Plan

A business plan is a document which sets out a business’s future objectives and the strategies they aim to use to achieve them. For an effective business plan, it must include an executive summary, company overview, products and services, marketing, operations, management and a summary of estimated finances. A business plan is beneficial as it sets a target for the company to constantly improve, and so they will have more success in overtaking the competition. Moreover, the business model must also be built upon the plan, so it is essential to do this first when starting up a business. Overall, the main purposes of a business plan is to help clarify your idea, spot potential issues that may arise, set out your goals and measure your progress; therefore, your plan must be constantly updated and followed closely throughout the entirety of the running of your business.

SOURCE - Business Plan Definition (investopedia.com)  

                   Write a business plan - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Business Model

A business model is a plan for the successful operation of a business, which identifies sources of revenue, the target audience, products and details of financing. Effective business models will usually include a summary of key partners, key activities, key resources, value propositions, customer relationships, distribution channels, customer segments, cost structure and revenue streams. Businesses must use a business model to plan the upfront costs that may be required when setting up their business, where they plan to get funds and a schedule detailing when they expect revenues to begin. This is important to stopping companies from going in the 'red'. It is also suitable to monitor the business driver which will usually be revenue income. Thus, a business cannot be set up reliably without a business model 

SOURCE - What is a Business Model? - dummies     

Sustainable Business Model

Typically, a sustainable business model is one that generates value for all involved without draining all of the resources that help create it, while being commercially successful. It is often what business owners will aim to achieve as it can be used to evaluate profits and stop a business from going ‘into the red', being 'future ready'. This is built upon the business model, with a key business driver being regulated and monitored. Lastly, to make a business model sustainable, it must be part of a sustainable society to keep it running, which means external conditions must match with a thriving economy. External factors can be estimated using PESTEL analysis, in order to work out which external factors will have the most influence over your business and how they will affect it. 

SOURCE - What Is a Sustainable Business Model? - business.com

                     What is a sustainable business model? | Forum for the Future